Gym Class Heroes
by Chellerbelle
Summary: No-powers AU. After Raven leaves her, Anna Marie goes to the Xavier Institute, a boarding school where her father, Logan, works as a gym coach along side his brother, Victor. Will Marie and Logan ever reconcile? Why does Remy have a strict "no girlfriend" policy? And don't these kids have anything better to engage in an X-Men vs Brotherhood prank war?
1. Za Intro

This was a story request from **Dreamlover1102** and **TaiOokamiYoukai**. I don't normally take requests for chapter fics for a variety of reasons, but this was one that I felt I could do justice, although it didn't turn out to be the comedy that it was intended to be. This is what happens when you try to be funny; you're not. Heh.

A big thanks to my writing buddy **JayCee's RedGold **(who is fabulously awesome btw and totally did not randomly insert this comment into the beta), who beta'd this story for me and provided a good deal of much needed feedback while I was writing it. Thanks for all your help and support!

Chapters will be posted every 2-3 days. There's a specific reason for this that has nothing to do with the chapter lengths, which I shall divulge about halfway through the story.

Enjoy!

* * *

**Gym Class Heroes**

**Chapter 1: ****Za Intro**

Anna Marie flung open her suitcase and stomped over to the wardrobe, intending for every step to be heard by the two people below her bedroom floor: Logan and Irene. She was going under protest and was determined to make sure they were both fully aware of this fact. She scowled at the contents of her wardrobe and starting picking out things to pack.

It started a week ago. The day seemed like any other summer day, one she had spent with her tight-knit group of friends. The only thing of any real interest to occur was that Carlie had decided to put bright blue streaks through her hair, which made Anna Marie the only girl in their group without dyed hair.

"Maybe one day I will," Anna Marie had said when prompted, although she had no real intentions of seeing it through. She liked her long brown hair just the way it was and secretly liked being able to say she was the only girl in their group who still had her natural hair colour.

Anna Marie didn't think anything of it when she didn't see her mother's car in the driveway when she got home later. After all, Raven would have been working. She didn't find anything unusual about her Aunt Irene sitting in the lounge with a cup of tea either. In fact, there was absolutely nothing to suggest to Anna Marie that all wasn't well in the world, not even one of those niggling feelings people get for no apparent reason just before everything blows up in their face.

Completely oblivious, Anna Marie went to the fridge to get a bottle of water. It was a perfectly ordinary fridge, with magnets stuck on it. Beneath a magnet that said "Many people have eaten in this kitchen and gone on to lead normal, healthy lives" there was a note with Anna Marie's name on it. This was the only indication anything out of the ordinary had happened all day. Anna Marie grabbed her bottle of water, which she then opened, and had a sip before taking the note off the fridge and reading it further:

_Anna Marie,_

_Gone to visit your brother. Don't know when I'll be back. Your father will take care of you._

_Mama_

Anna Marie reread the note twice, confused and not really believing what she was reading. What brother? And what did she mean she'd left? That her father would take care of her?

"Aunt Irene?" Anna Marie frowned, walking into the living room with the note in hand. "Do you know anything about this? I have a note from Mama about going to visit my brother."

"Ahh yes, your brother," Irene said, setting aside the letter written in Braille that she had been reading on the coffee table with careful precision. "I believe he contacted Raven recently. He wanted to meet her."

"So she just took off?" Anna Marie exclaimed incredulously. "I don't even have a brother!"

"He is your half brother," Irene explained with her usual patience much to Anna Marie's frustration. "Raven had an affair when you were fourteen months old."

Anna Marie was silent for a long moment.

"This is a joke, right?" Anna Marie said once she could find her voice.

"I am sorry, child," Irene replied. "Raven is long gone, where I cannot say."

"But she can't have," Anna Marie insisted, having some serious trouble comprehending this. "Mama wouldn't just up and leave me."

"She can and she has," Irene said, leaning over to pick up her letter again. "Twice."

"And she sure wouldn't go off without saying goodbye!" Anna Marie said, waving the piece of paper around. "This stupid note doesn't count."

"I told her she should tell you in person," Irene said solemnly. "I am sorry, Anna. Your father will be here in the morning."

Anna Marie shook her head violently.

"I don't believe it," she said. "I don't believe a word of it."

Regardless of what Anna Marie did or didn't believed, it was true. Raven was not only gone but her bedroom was completely packed up as if she didn't intend to return for years, if at all.

In the midst of trying to deal with the fact that Raven was really gone, Logan showed up. She scowled at him when he had the audacity to say hello. This was the guy who was supposed to be taking care of her? He was hardly ever around! No wonder Raven had an affair.

Anna Marie finished packing away her clothes and opened up another suitcase to pack away the rest of her things. As she sorted through her stuff she came across a baseball glove and a deck of cards, both of which she glared at. There had been a time when she had craved and treasured attention from her father whose military career often kept him away from his family. She bitterly remember being so excited when he came home, but in hindsight all those games of baseball, and poker, and everything else seemed like wasted time rather than quality time. Even after he retired from the military she still rarely saw him. He was always drifting from one job to another, few of which jobs brought him anywhere near Caldecott County.

"I'm surprised you even bothered to show up," Anna Marie had told her father.

"Yeah, I'm sorry I haven't been around much, darlin'," Logan replied awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Whatever."

Logan attempted to catch up with her but Anna Marie resisted all attempts at conversation. She sat sullenly on the lounge with her arms folded while Logan sat next to her and tried everything to engage her.

"Look," he said finally. "I got a job as a gym coach in a prep school in New York. It's one of those fancy-schmancy private boarding schools."

"There's a big surprise," Anna Marie said dryly. "You're leaving again."

"Yeah, well, this time you're coming with me," Logan replied firmly.

"Umm, excuse me?" Anna Marie demanded, turning to glare at him again. "I don't think so. Just because Mama left, doesn't mean you get to drag me away from my home and my friends."

"Actually, that's exactly what it means."

"I'm not going."

"You don't have a choice."

"Sure I do," she turned to her aunt, "I can stay here with Irene."

"Nope, Irene's with me on this one," Logan replied smugly. "You're coming to New York with me—"

"No I'm not!" Anna Marie exclaimed.

"Anna, you can't stay here. Besides, this school, the Xavier Institute—"

"Sounds more like a mental hospital," Anna Marie muttered, "or a lab. 'The Ponds Institute'."

"—isn't easy to get into," Logan went on, choosing to ignore her snide comment. "They only take in a few students every year, and you have to do this test—"

"Which I haven't done, so I can't get in, so I can't go," Anna Marie cut in. "Oh no, how terrible, I will have to stay here and go to normal school with all my friends."

"—but Professor Xavier is an old buddy of mine, which is how I got the job, and he's agreed to make a place for you," Logan finished up.

"Good to know nepotism is alive and well," Anna Marie replied cynically.

She had argued, made more snide comments and demands, but Logan would hear none of it. They were going and that was final.

Anna Marie tossed the baseball glove and deck of cards on the floor and started packing up her books. The worst part happened the next day when she had told her friends about Raven leaving and Logan carting her off to New York. Her friends had been sympathetic, ranted with her about how horrible parents were. That was comforting at least but it did nothing to soften the blow when she finally got a quiet word with her boyfriend, Cody.

Anna Marie and Cody had been dating since they were thirteen and had known each other since they were kids. They'd always been close but ever since he joined the football team he had been under increasing pressure from his peers to dump his social liability girlfriend. Anna Marie suspected that only their long history had kept them together this long and that it was only a matter of time before he buckled under the pressure. She knew the moment "I'm moving to New York" was out of her mouth it was over between them.

"Cody and I broke up because of you," Anna Marie had snarled at Logan upon her return home. "I hope you're happy!"

Logan was more confused than anything else. Since when had Anna Marie and Cody been dating?

Anna Marie moved on to the bathroom and packed up her hairbrush, comb, toothbrush, and other toiletries. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and smiled at her new reflection.

On the fourth day after getting the news it was impulse that sent Anna Marie to the hair salon. She had her hair cut down to her neck, a broad streak of white put in at the front. Her friends completely approved when they saw her.

"Why white though?" Carlie asked.

Anna Marie shrugged. "It goes with everything."

Logan had been less than pleased when he saw, though not quite for the reason that Anna Marie would have guessed.

"You're going to have to dye that back," he warned her. "There's a strict dress code at the school. No dyed hair."

"Too bad," Anna Marie replied haughtily. "I'm not doing it."

"Anna, it's the rules—"

Anna Marie made a rude noise. "What are they going to do? Expel me?"

Logan stifled a sigh and dropped it. Anna Marie counted it as a victory.

Anna Marie put off packing as long as possible. She ignored the arrival of a luggage set in her room and all the hints that she had better get started. She couldn't put it off forever, unfortunately, and come the night before their departure Logan and Irene put their feet down and sent her up to pack.

"How's it going?" Logan asked Anna Marie as she passed by him in the hallway on the way back to her room from the bathroom.

"Fine," she replied tersely before slamming the door behind her.

Logan sighed and muttered something under his breath. It was going to be a long trip to New York.

* * *

Anna Marie and Logan headed on to New York the next morning in Logan's pickup. Her bags were stowed in the back and they were driving in sullen silence. Logan had long since given up on any meaningful conversation as it had become quite clear that his daughter was determined to make everything as difficult for him as possible. He should have realised the moment he told Professor Xavier that Anna Marie was a 'sweet kid' it was going to bite him on the rear.

Her mood only grew worse on the trip as Logan had opted to give her reading material in the form of the code of conduct for the school. Every word had Anna Marie chomping at the bit. The first injustice was the uniform.

"We have to wear a uniform?" Anna Marie exclaimed with horror the moment her eyes landed on the words. "You have to be kidding me."

"Nope," Logan replied, his eyes trained on the road.

"What is this? The freaking military?"

"Nope."

"It may as well be!"

"Relax already, darlin'," Logan said. "You only have to wear it during classes and school events. You can wear anything you want outside of school hours."

"Oh, I'm sorry, was that supposed to make me feel better?" Anna Marie snapped at him. "Because if so, it didn't work."

Logan didn't reply, and Anna Marie went back to glowering at the code of conduct. When in uniform, the only jewellery they were allowed to wear were simple studs in the earlobe and a watch. They could wear sunglasses, of a specific type. They could wear a headband if they wanted but it had to be in the school colours. No makeup, not even lip gloss. Dyeing your hair an unnatural colour was forbidden. Shirts had to be tucked in at all times. Skirts were relegated to three inches above the knee and any girls whose skirt came up higher on their leg than that got detention for the sole purpose of adjusting the hem. They had to wear proper socks. Shoes had to be polished. The list went on and on with each new item making Anna Marie fume that much more.

There were a few annoying things she wasn't at all surprised to find in the list such as the curfew and that girls weren't allowed in the boys dorms and vice versa. On the bright side there was also some kind of rewards program for good behaviour, although she couldn't determine how that was supposed to work from the code of conduct.

"I'm sure you're going to like it," Logan said some time after Anna Marie finally put the code of conduct aside. "They've got some pretty good facilities there, a lot better than anything you'd get in a public school."

Anna Marie didn't reply.

"And that's not even counting the pools," Logan said with a glance towards his daughter with each new feature searching for a reaction, "or the lake. They've got jetskis. And dirt bikes. And horses."

"Whoopiedo," Anna Marie said blandly.

Another long sullen, awkward silence later, Logan spoke again:

"The dorm rooms are full, so you'll be bunking with me," he said and when he still got no response he continued, "It used to be an all boys school, so there's a lot more boys at the school than girls at the moment. And Chuck, umm, Professor Xavier, likes to mix up the ages in the different classes, so you'll probably have classes with everything from freshmen to seniors."

Eventually they stopped for lunch and some hours later stopped again for dinner and a room for the night. It was a twin room and they changed into their nightclothes separately in the bathroom when they had their respective showers. Logan went to bed almost immediately but Anna Marie stayed up and read for awhile.

When she did eventually turn off the light and curl up under the covers she couldn't help but cry a little. This was really happening. Her mother had left her for some brother she never even heard of (how she hated this brother of hers) and her father had made her pack up and leave all her friends, Cody, and the only home she'd ever known. She barely knew her father but it was clear the only person he cared about was himself.

Logan heard his daughter's tears and the sound made him feel like crying himself. He realised she probably blamed him for all of this, everything right down to Raven's original infidelity. He also realised that he'd likely brought it on himself for not being around as often as he should. As much as he loved Anna Marie it had been far too painful to even look at Raven. He had loved her deeply, once, but Raven didn't seem to have it in her to stay faithful. After their divorce Logan felt that he moved around too much from job to job, else he might have put up more of a fight for custody over Anna Marie. In hindsight he wished he had, but it was too late for that now, and he was stuck with the consequences of that decision.

* * *

Anna Marie and Logan continued on their way after breakfast. The trip was just as sullen and quiet as it was the day before, if not moreso, because they just didn't have anything more to say to each other. In fact, the conversation dwindled to only talking when they made a stop for food and fuel. Logan found himself wishing that Anna Marie would say something, anything. He felt he could even tolerate her saying "are we there yet" over and over. Well, with any luck, she'd open up once they had a chance to settle in. After all, they would be living together, in the same building even, not just on the same campus. She couldn't avoid him forever. She certainly couldn't avoid him when he would be her teacher.

They stopped for lunch and as Anna Marie got out of the car she felt a cool breeze on the back of her neck. She rubbed it gently. It was a little weird having short hair after having long hair for most of her life, she wasn't used to having a cold neck. Thinking of her hair reminded her about the hair dyeing rules in the code of conduct and it made her scowl. Much to her further annoyance, Logan chose to ignore the angry expression on her face and led the way inside the diner.

"I'm not dyeing my hair back," she said argumentatively after their food had been ordered and Logan hadn't commented.

"Ain't up to me," Logan replied languidly as he leaned back in his seat. "It's Professor Xavier you have to have this conversation with."

"Yeah, well, I'm gonna tell him the same thing I'm telling you," Anna Marie said stubbornly, refusing to be side-tracked. "I'm not dyeing my hair back. I like my hair just like this and no stupid code of conduct for a school I don't even want to be at is going to make me change it."

Logan didn't respond.

"I don't care how many detentions or whatever they decide to give me either," Anna Marie added. "I'm not going to let them turn me into some kind of automaton."

"When you meet Professor Xavier for yourself, and see how he does things, I don't think you'll be accusing him of trying to turn you kids into automatons," Logan replied coolly.

"Oh yeah? Then why do we have to wear uniforms?" Anna Marie demanded with a smug tone.

"Makes the school look good and promotes equality between the students. He wants you kids to excel because you're smart and fit, not because you know how to dress," Logan said.

"Whatever. Uniforms are stupid. This whole thing is stupid," Anna Marie said, glaring at him sullenly. "Mama never would have made me go."

"Yeah, I'm sure Raven let you do whatever you wanted," Logan replied shortly, not wanting to talk about his ex-wife right now.

"At least she stuck around," Anna Marie said. "Unlike you."

"Really? She stuck around?" Logan asked. "Then why are you headed to New York with me?"

Having no response to that, Anna Marie slouched back in her chair, crossing her arms and glaring at Logan. Logan stifled a sigh. He'd been where she was now. He knew how much it hurt.

"She left me too, Anna."

The emotion in Logan's eyes stopped the bitter retort she had planned on snapping back with. Instead, she let out a breath and grumbled:

"It's Marie."


	2. Everyday's Forecast

**Chapter 2: ****Everyday's Forecast**

It was dark by the time Marie and Logan arrived at the Xavier Institute and Marie saw little more than a number of large buildings and lots of trees behind a tall stone fence and a large wrought iron gate. Logan plugged in his security code to enter and once the gate opened they drove down the lighted driveway to the dorm blocks.

"Okay, these are the dormitories," Logan told Marie as they slowly drove past. "Those two are for the boys, and that one is for the girls. There's a student lounge in each of them, so that girl's one is the one you can use."

Marie peered out the lowered window to look at the dorms, and frowned when she caught movement at the top of one of the boys dorms.

"What the..." she said more to herself but Logan heard her anyway.

"What?" he asked.

Marie didn't reply, just stuck her head further out the window until the odd moving shape became a young man climbing down the side of the building. Marie's lack of response made Logan curious to find what she was so interested in and he leaned forward in his seat to look out of the front window. Upon seeing the climber, Logan stopped the car and they got out just as the boy touched the ground.

"Mind telling me what that was all about?" Logan asked.

The young man glanced towards them and Marie caught her breath as a pair of red eyes glinted in his head. He gave a shrug and then pointed upwards. Logan and Marie looked up again and it was then they saw smoke coming out the windows.

"Someone released a smoke bomb," the young man explained. "Guess the pranks are starting early this year, no?"

"Pranks?" Marie repeated as Logan growled beside her.

"Oui," the young man said and swaggered over to them, looking towards Logan. "You must be the new teacher, Coach Howlett?"

"That's right," Logan said remembering Professor Xavier saying something about one of the students having red and black eyes. "LeBeau, right?"

"Remy LeBeau, at your service," Remy replied, and smiled towards Marie. "And you must be the daughter I heard was coming. I'm afraid no one's told me your name...?"

"Marie," she said.

The conversation got no further as the main doors of both male dorms opened and the residents came pouring out, coughing and spluttering. The residents included the dorm 'parents' whose job it was to take care of the students living under their roof and not one of them was at all impressed with the smoke bombs.

Within moments half of the faculty showed up, including the headmaster, Professor Xavier, himself. While the smoke bombs were being cleared out, Professor Xavier admonished the male students while a number of the female ones were looking on curiously from their own dorm. Marie snorted in contempt when Professor Xavier asked for the perpetrator to come forward and was not at all surprised when none of the boys volunteered.

"This is not the way to start the new school year, especially when classes haven't even begun yet. I will give the perpetrator—or perpetrators—until this time tomorrow to come forward. Failing that, all of you will have after school detention for a week. You may go."

The boys grumbled as they headed back to their rooms, Professor Xavier wheeling over to Logan and Marie in his wheelchair. With him were two of the other teachers; a tall woman with long white hair, and a shaggy-haired blond man complete with scruffy beard.

"Logan," Professor Xavier said, "I'm glad you made it."

Logan nodded and in the light Professor Xavier noted the white streak in the young woman's hair.

"So am I," Logan replied, putting his hand on Marie's shoulder. "Chuck, this is my daughter—"

"Marie," she said pointedly.

It was a small act of defiance and rebellion, but "Anna" was the name Logan had given her, "Marie" was the name Raven had supplied. Everyone back home called her "Anna Marie" or "Anna" for short. Perhaps it was a little childish, to enforce a change of name in revenge for making her move and find a whole new set of friends, but Marie didn't care.

"Marie," Logan repeated tersely, gesturing to each of the adults in turn. "This is Professor Xavier, Ms Monroe. And this...is your Uncle Victor, or Coach Creed as you'll be calling him."

Marie and Victor looked at each other. Marie had a vague recollection of being told Logan had a half brother but this was the first time they'd met. Victor looked Marie over with a sneer on his face.

"So this is Raven's get. You look just like her," Victor glanced at Logan significantly. "I wonder if that's _all_ she got from her?"

Logan growled.

"Gentlemen, please," Professor Xavier cut in. "Marie, it is nice to meet you."

"Delighted, I'm sure," Marie replied cynically, knowing she really should be polite but not feeling sufficient motivation to do so.

"Marie," Logan said warningly.

"It's quite alright, Logan," Professor Xavier said. "It's been a long trip and it's late. I'm sure you're both tired and eager to get settled in."

"Yeah, that," Marie said.

"You know," Victor said, looking at Marie and being far more interested in stirring the pot than making his brother and niece feel at home, "you're going to have do dye that blonde streak of yours."

"I am not doing any such thing," Marie replied with stubborn dignity while Logan smothered a groan.

"Perhaps you haven't had a chance to read our code of conduct yet," Professor Xavier was annoyed with Victor for bringing this up now when it could have waited, "but I'm afraid dyed hair is not permitted with the school uniform. However, you are new here and I'm quite happy to give you time to—"

"I don't need time. I'm not dyeing my hair. I only just had it done," Marie interrupted irritably, then a stroke of genius hit her. "Besides, the code of conduct says you can't have unnatural hair colour and there's nothing unnatural about white hair."

To emphasise the point, Marie gestured towards Miss Munroe and the woman smiled

"Marie has a good point, Professor," Ororo sounded amused.

"One does not normally see white hair and brown hair in the same head, however," Professor Xavier replied.

"Wrong," Marie said smugly.

"Marie—" Logan attempted to cut in.

"When people go grey, their hair isn't actually turning grey," Marie said, her smug tone increasing. "If you look really close at it, it's actually made up of white hairs, and brown hairs, or black, or blonde, or whatever. It only looks grey from a distance. Therefore, white and brown can exist in the same head and at the same time quite naturally."

Professor Xavier was quiet for a moment, then smiled at Marie.

"You're quite right," he said. "I was going to give you a week to dye your hair back, but you make a compelling argument and I no longer require you to dye your hair. That said, I hope to see you on the debate team young lady."

Marie beamed with pride and relief.

"Thank you, Professor," she said genuinely.

He gave her a nod.

"Now, I think I have taken up enough of your time. I'm sure you're both anxious to settle in," said the Professor, looking once more towards Logan.

"Meet you in the car, darlin'," Logan told Marie.

Marie rolled her eyes but headed back to the car. Ororo and Victor also took their leave.

"Look, Chuck," Logan said once they were alone. "I appreciate you taking her in at the last minute but just 'cause we go a ways back don't mean I'm expecting you to show her any favouritism or anything."

"And I didn't," Professor Xavier assured him. "Had any of the other students given me the same argument I would have let them off too. Good night, Logan. I'll see you in the morning."

"Night, Chuck."

Marie didn't say anything as Logan got back into the car. It was a short drive to the teacher's quarters, which were just nearby, and they finally parked outside of a small house. They unloaded Marie's luggage and carted it into Marie's room down the hall. It was a smaller than her room back in Mississippi but it made up for it with a large built in wardrobe and an ensuite. Someone had already made the bed up for her.

"I'll give you a proper tour of the school in the morning," Logan said. "And we'll get you your books and uniform and all that too."

"Okay," she replied.

Logan was pleased he didn't get another "whatever" or something from her.

"Night darlin'," he said.

"Night."

* * *

Logan just about dropped the milk when Marie joined him in the kitchen for breakfast the next morning. During his week with her in Mississippi he'd gotten used to her preferred style of dress. He didn't much like that her taste ran to form fitting clothing, partly because it showed exactly how much his baby girl was growing up, but mostly because he knew that boys would be noticing how much she was growing up too. However, her tight clothing and skin baring was not what shocked him that morning, it was the heavy application of purple make up (eye shadow and lipstick) and studded leather accessories around her neck and wrists that did it.

Marie watched Logan's face and noted his lips twisting as he recovered the milk. He wanted to say something, she knew it. He didn't though. Not a word came out of his mouth. In silence they went about their breakfast.

After breakfast, Logan took Marie on that tour of the grounds he had promised her. The campus was much more impressive during the day and she had to admit it was quite unlike any school she'd ever seen before. The outdoor sports facilities alone outdid anything she'd ever seen before and that wasn't even including the lake and boathouse. The classrooms themselves were about the same size as any normal classroom but were clearly intended for smaller groups of students.

The tour ended when they entered the admin block. There was a line in front of the counter where the secretary, Rahne Sinclaire, handed out their timetables for the semester. There was also a table full of text books off to the side, which the students would go to after getting their timetable and load up. Rahne spotted Logan and Marie as soon as they entered.

"Logan," she called, waving towards him to get his attention. "The Professor would like to talk to your daughter about her classes. He said to send her straight in."

All the students looked towards them curiously and Marie shifted uncomfortably from the unwanted attention. Logan didn't seem to notice and walked her to Professor Xavier's office.

While Marie discussed her last-minute electives, Logan looked over the waiting students. They were all in casual clothes as this was not a formal school day. Although he had seen the boys the night before, the only one he recognised was Remy, who came in about five minutes later wearing dark sunglasses. Remy gave Logan a two-fingered salute when he saw him. Logan found it interesting that Remy already knew who he was, although Logan hadn't yet decided if it was a good interesting, or a bad one. The Professor only mentioned Remy to him as advance warning about his obvious genetic defect, the one which had prompted the change in the code of conduct to allow the wearing of sunglasses with the school uniform.

"I like to be flexible and the defect makes him photosensitive," Professor Xavier had advised him. "A certain other student, one Scott Summers, has taken advantage of the change in rule to wear sunglasses all the time but the rest of the students are respective rather than abusive."

The line moved faster than Marie's meeting with the Professor and by the time Marie finally emerged with Professor Xavier in tow, the students had already gone. The Professor stopped to discuss something with Rahne while Marie returned to Logan's side.

"How'd it go?" Logan asked.

"Fine," Marie replied tersely. "The Professor said I should get fitted for my uniform while they're sorting out my timetable."

Logan nodded and gestured to the uniform shop which was just off the foyer. Ororo was busy with a young man with brown hair.

"There, that looks like a much better fit," Ororo said with a decisive nod.

"Yeah," the boy replied and then glanced over at the new arrivals. "Uhh, hi."

Ororo turned her head and smiled when she noted the latest arrivals.

"Ahh, Jamie, this is Coach Howlett. He'll be taking over the X-Men this year. And this is his daughter, Marie," Ororo said. "Logan, Marie, this is Jamie."

Marie wondered what the "X-Men" were supposed to be.

"Nice to meet you both," Jamie said.

"Likewise," Logan replied.

"I'll be with you in just a minute," Ororo promised Logan and Marie.

She rung up Jamie's new uniform pieces and as he departed Ororo turned her attention to Logan and Marie. She appraised Marie's body type for a moment and then started picking out clothes for her to try on. Marie went into the changing room to try them on and shook her head when she saw herself in the mirror; red plaid skirt, while blouse with the school emblem embroidered on the pocket, and a red blazer also with the school emblem embroidered on it. This, along with a pair of black shoes, white socks, and a plaid red tie, would be what she would be stuck wearing in class for the entire school year.

Marie was not amused.

The fitting went rather quickly although Marie would have to go into town for an appropriate pair of shoes, apparently black boots weren't. A couple of white sports shirts were also set aside for her but although she tried on a pair of sport shorts for sizing purposes, Marie was informed she wouldn't be getting those until after teams were decided.

"What teams?" Marie asked.

Ororo gave Logan a look as if to say "You haven't told her yet?" and Logan shrugged in response.

"Gym class is divided into teams, the X-Men and the Brotherhood," Ororo told Marie. "The X-Men have yellow uniforms and the Brotherhood have blue uniforms."

Marie looked back at the racks of sports shorts. She had noticed that they were all in yellow and blue, but aside from noting that they weren't red like the everyday uniform, Marie hadn't actually realised there was anything significant about the alternate colours.

"Oh." Marie wasn't really sure what else to say.

"You'll be picking teams at your first gym class which'll be tomorrow," Ororo said. "It won't be a long wait. Now, you need white shoes for the gym uniform so if you don't have any already you'll need to get those too. We don't like other colours on the shoes, unless it's black or grey trim, but we'll allow blue or yellow if you're on the appropriate team."

Once Marie was done with the uniform returned to Rahne who was waiting with Marie's timetable. They gathered up her text books and Marie's new laptop computer. Marie was a little surprised about the computer but it seemed that the use of pen and paper was optional around here.

* * *

After a quick trip into town to get shoes and a few other supplies, Marie had the rest of the afternoon to herself as Logan needed to do a few things to prepare for the next day. She wasn't entirely sure what to do with herself at first but eventually found her way into the student lounge in the girls dormitory. It was a fairly nice room: a couple of lounges, a reasonable-sized TV, a pool table, a normal table and chairs, along with a few other things.

A girl with short black hair was curled up on one of the lounges reading a book. She wore a tight red shirt that showed off her stomach, black pants, and a pair of ankh-shaped earrings. She was dressed much like her friends back home might and Marie took this as a good sign.

"Umm, hi," she said, walking over to her.

The girl looked up from her book irritably and glanced over Marie. "What?"

Marie nodded. Yeah, exactly like her friends back home.

"Just thought I'd say 'hi'. I'm Marie," she said. "Don't let me bother you, sugar, I'm just looking around."

"Wanda. I thought I'd already met all the new girls." Marie fancied she heard an unspoken 'unfortunately' attached to that statement. "Oh, wait... you're the new coach's daughter?"

"Yeah, that's me," Marie replied, her voice dripping with irritation. "Just got in last night in time for the smoke bombing."

Wanda snickered, putting her bookmark in its place and closing her book.

"I'm Mr Lehnsherr's daughter. He's the history teacher," Wanda said. "Where are you staying?"

"With my father," Marie replied, sitting down on the lounge next to her. "Oh joy, oh prosper."

"Oh man, if my father made me stay with him, I'd kill myself," Wanda said, shaking her head.

"Damn," Marie said, frowning. "I didn't think about threatening suicide if he dragged me to New York."

Wanda looked at her for a long moment, snickered, and then nodded to her hair.

"They're going to make you dye your hair brown again," she advised Marie.

"Nope," Marie replied smugly. "Talked to the Professor last night and convinced him that white hair and brown hair in the same head of hair is a natural phenomenon and he let me get away with it."

"Really? Crap," Wanda said irritably. "I tried dying my hair red once but they made me change it because the colour of red I chose wasn't a natural shade. I tried telling them it matched the uniform but no dice."

"Such a stupid rule."

"Definitely."


	3. Kid Nothing VS The Echo Factor

**Chapter 3: ****Kid Nothing VS. The Echo Factor**

Marie looked around at the number of people in the gym and realised that at twenty-one students (including herself) and two teachers, this was the largest class she'd had all day if she didn't count roll call. She'd also already met half of them in the three preceding classes alone, but she supposed that was to be expected in a school of only 41 students.

Victor was wearing a blue shirt and Logan was wearing a yellow one and beside them was a table with two boxes on it. Victor blew his whistle, getting everyone's attention.

"Alright punks," he said. "We've got six newbies in here—seven if you include Coach Howlett over here, who's replacing Coach Monroe."

Logan growled under his breath with a dire look at his brother.

"So allow me to explain how things work," Victor went on, ignoring Logan but inwardly feeling smug at knowing he had annoyed his little brother. "You're going to be split into two teams, the Brotherhood and the X-Men. You'll be playing against each other for the rest of the year, so no switching is allowed, got it? Once you've picked your team that's it until next year, unless you're graduating after this year, but in that case you already know the damn drill. Once you pick your team, get your uniform."

Victor gestured to the boxes on the table next to him.

"Once the teams are finalised," he continued, "you'll go change, so you had better have remembered to bring your shirts with you because I'm not beneath making you go the rest of the class shirtless."

Logan cleared his throat. Victor turned his head and smirked at him.

"What's wrong, runt?" he asked Logan. "Worried your little girl might have forgotten hers?"

Marie ignored the glances in her direction.

"Don't get too excited, Creed," Logan replied darkly, "she ain't that much like her mother."

Marie frowned. What was that supposed to mean?

"Pity. We both know how much I just looooove Raven," Victor said, throwing a smirk at Logan before turning to the class again. "And because Coach Howlett decided to bring his kid along at the last minute we now have uneven teams; one will have ten, the other will have eleven. Worthington."

Warren Worthington cleared his throat and stepped forward out of the group. Like all the other boys he was dressed in long red pants, a white button up shirt, a red blazer, a red tie, and black shoes. There were probably white socks as well but they were hidden underneath the pant legs. He was a senior and therefore was quite familiar with the drill.

"X-Men," Warren walked smartly over to Logan's side. He still had his yellow shorts from the year before, they still fit, so he didn't bother raiding the boxes.

"Haller."

"X-Men," said David, and the dirty-blond strode over to Logan's side.

"Wyngarde."

"Brotherhood," said Jason who hurried over to Victor's side.

"Summers."

Scott, who had been wearing his sunglasses all day as far as Marie could tell, stepped forward.

"X-Men," Scott said and joined Logan's side where he rifled quickly through a box for a new pair of shorts.

"Alvers."

"Brotherhood," said Lance as he stepped forward.

Victor gave Lance a brief nod as the tall, dark-haired youth made his way to Victor's table.

"Grey."

A tall girl with a head full of long red hair stepped forward.

"X-Men," said Jean.

"LeBeau."

"Brotherhood," Remy said without a second thought or even a pause in his walk as he made his way over to Victor's side.

"Allerdyce."

John "Pyro" Allerdyce stepped forward.

"Brotherhoooood for the win!" he declared, pumping his arm in the air.

"Save it," Victor told him then announced the next name as John walked over to the boxes. "Maximoff, Pietro."

"Brotherhood," Pietro said as if this was completely obvious and headed over to that side.

"Maximoff, Wanda."

Wanda glanced over at Logan, then back at Victor.

"Brotherhood," she said and sauntered over to join her brother and the rest of their team thus far.

"Rasputin."

A tall, solidly built young man stepped forward.

"X-Men," Piotr said quietly before walking over to the boxes to find a new pair of shorts.

"Pryde."

Kitty, a petite brunette, stepped forward chewing her bottom lip, looking between the X-Men and the Brotherhood. Lance looked back at her with an expression that was clearly asking her to join him.

"Make up your mind, Pryde," Victor said when she took longer than he was happy with. "I haven't got all day."

She took a deep breath.

"X-Men," Kitty mouthed "sorry" to Lance as she joined her friends on the X-Men team.

"Dukes," Victor announced paying no attention to the sour look Lance shot Kitty.

The over-weight senior student stepped forward.

"Brotherhood," said Fred, looking forward to his final year of having to endure Victor as a coach. He never liked gym but the other Brotherhood members generally made it tolerable.

"Madrox," Victor said as Fred made his way to the table to rifle through the box of boys shorts.

"X-Men," little Jamie said nervously and quickly scampered over while Victor smirked.

The last of the pre-existing students to choose was Callisto, who picked the Brotherhood. Victor then turned his attention to the five remaining students, his eyes locked on Marie.

"Howlett," he said.

Marie stepped forward and hesitated. She wasn't feeling particularly inclined to be on the same team as her father, but at the same time, her Uncle Victor didn't seem to like her that much. Then again, the only reason Victor didn't seem to like her was because of her father. Maybe he might be more sympathetic towards her if she sided with him. At the same time, Wanda was also on Victor's team, and they seemed to have hit it off pretty well.

"Brotherhood," Marie said.

She strode confidently over to Victor who actually looked surprised at her decision. The expression on Logan's face was indeterminable.

"Okay, the rest of you newbies," Victor said while Rogue rifled through the boxes to pick out a pair of blue shorts. "I don't know your damn names so I'm going to point at you and you're going to tell me your name and then pick your team. You."

Bobby swallowed and stepped forward when he realised that Victor was pointing his finger at him.

"Ahem. Bobby...uhh, Drake. Bobby Drake," he said. "Umm...X-Men."

Victor smirked as Bobby hurriedly made his way over to Logan side. Victor loved scaring freshmen. He pointed at one of the girls next.

"Jubilation Lee," she began.

"You're joking, right?" Victor asked.

"Umm, no..." Jubilee replied. "That's my real name."

"Your parents are morons then," Victor said, and pointed his thumb back at Callisto. "Although not as big as the morons who decided to only give Callisto back there one name."

Jubilee frowned, "My parents are dead."

"Boo hoo hoo. What team?"

Jubilee glared at him. "X-Men. And I always liked yellow better than blue anyway."

Victor chuckled to himself as Jubilee stormed over to the X-Men side. He pointed at a boy whose black hair almost looked blue in the light.

"Wagner," he said. "Kurt Wagner. X-Men."

Kurt followed Jubilee over to the X-Men and Victor pointed at the last boy.

"Todd Tolanski," said the weedy teenager. "Brotherhood."

"Huh," Victor said, looking at the teams. "Ten and ten."

"Shocking," Logan said blandly to Victor. "I didn't realise you could count."

"Suck my balls, runt," Victor replied, and then pointed at the last student, a blonde girl. "You."

"Tabitha Smith," she said, glancing between both teams with some indecision before finally saying, "X-Men."

"Good," Victor turned around to better address the students. "Go get changed. Brotherhood, meet me over there when you get out. X-Men, meet Howlett over there. They will be your meeting places from now on after you get out of the locker rooms unless your coach says otherwise."

The students finished picking out their uniforms, those who needed them, and then grabbed their bags which had been left off to the side. Marie followed the rest of the girls inside their locker room and was momentarily taken aback at the facilities. The first thing she noticed was that they were clean. Not just clean of dirt and grime, but of graffiti too. They were also laid out so that everyone could have some privacy while they changed. Not that not being able to see each other stopped the girls from talking.

"That guy is a jerk," Jubilee declared crossly as she went about her business.

"Who? Coach Creed?" Callisto asked. "You get used to it."

"I don't want to get used to it," Jubilee snapped back at her. "Who's he to go around calling my parents morons? He called your parents morons too."

"Please. He's said far worse things," Callisto replied.

"Unfortunately this is true," Jean said from her corner of the locker room. "And just so you new girls know, take every threat he makes seriously."

"Like forgetting our shirts?" Tabitha asked.

"Well, I doubt he'll follow through on that one—at least with us girls—but only because if Coach Howlett doesn't stop him, Professor Xavier will have his head," Jean said. "Oh man, I hope Coach Howlett is going to be as good as Ms Monroe was in curbing Coach Creed."

"I wouldn't count on it," Wanda said. "Did you hear them arguing out there? This is going to be a long year, I can feel it. Hey, Marie. What was that comment about your mother all about?"

"Don't ask me," Marie replied as she finished changing into her new blue sports uniform. "I suppose he must have met Mama at some point. He's my uncle—father's half-brother—so it's not impossible, although I never met him prior to coming here."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Jubilee cut in, looking away from the mirror to gape at Marie who was heading towards the way out, "Coach Creed is your uncle?"

"You poor thing," said Kitty, also heading towards the door. "You have my sympathies."

Marie shrugged. "It's not really all that interesting. Besides—"

"Hang on, brothers? They're brothers?" Jean said, joining the growing group by the door. "And they're fighting already?"

"Hellooo sibling rivalry," Wanda said dryly. "I stand by my statement that this is going to be a long year."

The girls headed back out into the gym and the X-Men joined the rest of their team on the other side with Logan, while Marie, Wanda, and Callisto joined Victor and the other boys on their side. When everyone arrived the two coaches then took their teams outside to drill them in playing football.

* * *

"Dude, seriously?" Kurt said in the cafeteria during lunch. "After school detention for a week?"

"Yep," Scott said, looking irritable. "And when I get my hands on the son of a gun responsible..."

"Man," Kurt said, shaking his head. "And just when I was thinking that boarders have all the fun,"

"Stick with being a day student, huh?" Jean asked teasingly.

"Definitely."

"Yeah, I don't envy you either," said Warren as he dug his fork into his food.

"I wonder who did it?" Kitty said thoughtfully.

"I'm wondering the same thing," Scott said grimly. "There's a few too many people who like to pull pranks around here."

"Not that you've ever done that," Jean said, smiling at him.

"Well," said Sam. "It can't have been any of the freshmen, or any of the day students—"

"How come?" asked Kurt.

"Day students don't have access to the dorms, at least, not at that time of night without invitation," Sam replied, "and it can't have been any of the girls either, 'cause they're not allowed in the boys dorms."

Kurt mulled that over. He may have been new to the school but he lived nearby and he already knew some of the existing students. He'd also been reading a lot of mystery novels over the summer and was rather interested in solving one for real.

Jean snapped her fingers. "That's what I was going to mention. Turns out that Coach Howlett and Coach Creed are brothers."

"Really?" Warren asked. "They don't look much alike."

"Half-brothers according to Marie," Kitty replied.

"It might have been a girl if the dorm parents were still in summer mode," Kurt went on thoughtfully, seemingly oblivious to the conversation. "None of the girls were threatened with detention, so why would they come forward?"

"Who's Marie?" asked Candy Southern, another senior and Warren's girlfriend.

"Coach Howlett's daughter," Kitty said. "I wonder why she decided to pick the Brotherhood?"

"I'm guessing it's probably because she's friends with Wanda," Jean said, gesturing across the cafeteria to where Marie was sitting with Wanda, Callisto, Lance, Remy, Pietro, and John. "Besides, how awkward would it be being on a team coach by your dad?"

"True," Kitty said.

"Hey could one of you guys show me exactly where the smoke bombs were planted?" Kurt asked, looking around at the boys at the table.

"Why?" asked Piotr who had been sitting quietly off to the side.

"I just want to see if my 'one of the girls did it' theory is right," Kurt replied cheerfully, "or otherwise figure out which one of the boys did."

"I know where they were all put in my building," Scott said. "I'm not sure about the other one though, but if we go right now we should have enough time to scope it out before next class."

"I'll help," Jamie said brightly. "I'm in the other building."

"Great," Kurt said, standing up. "Let's go."

* * *

"Well," Kurt said a little later as he followed Jamie and Scott back out of the second boys dormitory. "I think it's safe to say that the girls couldn't have been involved. They would have had to sneak in after curfew past their own dorm parents and then past all the boys dorm parents while carrying smoke bombs and then back again. Someone would have seen something. So that means one of you boys definitely did it."

"One of us?" Jamie asked nervously.

"Well, it wasn't me," Scott said as the three walked back to the classroom block, "and when I get my hands on the person responsible—"

"People," Kurt corrected, while awkwardly jotting notes in his little notepad. "Two dorms, after lights out, there would have had to have been two people involved, one for each dorm. And for all I know you could have been one of them, Scott, and this is all a show."

"It's not a show!" Scott objected.

Kurt leaned in towards him with mock-suspicion. "Methinks you protest too much."

Jamie giggled.

"I do not," Scott replied crossly.

"Oh yeah? And where were you on the night of the forty-second of Octember?" Kurt asked.

"You know, if you're not going to take this seriously, I'm not going to help you anymore," Scott said. "I'm sure I can figure out who did it on my own."

Kurt shrugged and flipped his notepad over to a new page.

"Okay then," he said. "What about the night of the bombing? Did you happen to hear or see anything?"

Scott shook his head. "It was after curfew but before lights out, I was reading. Didn't notice a thing until the smoke was coming in through the gaps around my door. I tried the handle but someone had put Vaseline on it and I had to wipe it off before I could even get out—"

"Wait, Vaseline?" Kurt asked, jumping on that. "I hadn't heard that part."

"Yeah, well, whoever did it wanted to make sure we got a lung full of smoke," Scott said disgustedly.

"Interesting. Did your door have Vaseline on it too?" Kurt asked Jamie.

"Uh huh," Jamie replied.

Almost as soon as they got back to the classroom block the bell rang and the three headed off to their next classes. Every opportunity Kurt got he asked the male boarders about that night, if they had heard or seen anything, and did their door knob have Vaseline on it. He thought that this Vaseline thing was very interesting. Whoever was responsible would have had to visit every single room in their dorm, preferably as close to the time of the bombing as possible. This led Kurt to inquiring about visitors as well.

"Visitors?" Piotr said as they walked to their next class. "Well, uhh, no one, actually..."

"But you visited a few of the other guys in your dorm building, right?" Kurt said, glancing at his notes. "Everyone from your building so far has said that you stopped in to see them."

"Yes. I thought it might be a good idea to introduce myself," Piotr said tentatively, "seeing as we were going to be living together for a year."

Kurt nodded and jotted something down on his notepad. Piotr licked his bottom lip.

"I am trying to be more assertive," Piotr said nervously. "I am not so good with meeting new people. That is why I visited everyone, I started with the people I already knew and worked my way down to the freshmen."

"Really?" Kurt asked with interest. "Hey good for you, dude. How'd it go?"

"It was...difficult at the time but I am glad I did it," Piotr replied, nodding.

"Okay, so, you didn't have any visitors yourself," Kurt said as they rounded the corner. "Did you happen to notice anyone else wandering around?"

"Remy," Piotr replied, hesitated for a moment, and then added: "and Pietro."

"Interesting. Well, thanks for your help, Pete," Kurt said as they filed into the classroom.

'You are welcome."

When the class was over, Piotr surprised Kurt by giving him a couple of sheets of paper from his sketchbook, he had carefully drawn the floor plans for the dorms. On one sheet Piotr noted which bedroom belonged to who, the second one was only partially filled in as Piotr hadn't been certain of who had what room. Kurt thanked him for his help.

"You are welcome," Piotr replied, feeling pleased with himself. Maybe he'd get the hang of this assertive stuff after all.

* * *

When the school day was over, and all the boy boarders had gathered to endure the first day of their week's after school detention, Kurt caught up with Wanda. She was walking back to the girls dorm with Marie and Callisto.

"So, Wanda," Kurt said. "Did you and Pietro happen to have access to the dorms over the summer? I know you guys practically live here—"

"Thank goodness," Wanda replied blandly as they walked, "but no, no dorm access. They get cleaned out over the summer and father has us stay with him, not that it really matters since we spent most of the summer in Europe this year. Does this have something to do with your silly little investigation?"

"What can I say?" Kurt answered with a shrug. "I spent my summer reading Sherlock Holmes and Hardy Boys. I thought maybe Pietro may have done it. He's probably the only one who could have pulled this off alone; he could have made up all the smoke bombs, hidden a few in the second dorm room in advance, and then when the time came, sneaked over and set them up. Of course, all the door knobs had Vaseline on them in the inside and no one in the second dorm saw him soooo... ah well, it was a long shot anyway."

"Yeah," Wanda raised an eyebrow, "for one thing, you seem to think Pietro's smart enough to put together a smoke bomb."

Callisto snickered but Kurt looked at Wanda thoughtfully.

"That's actually a really good point," Kurt said. "Not only would the people responsible need to have access to all the bedrooms between curfew and lights out but they would also have to know how to make the things in the first place and have access to the materials. Say, you would have seen everyone arriving, right? Any suspicious packages?"

"Any suspicious packages? Really?" Wanda asked scornfully.

Kurt shrugged and grinned whimsically at her. "Just a thought."

"I came with a suspicious package," Marie said mischievously. "Coach Howlett."

"Heh," Wanda replied with a smirk, then snapped her fingers. "Didn't you say that you arrived when the smoke bombs went off?"

"That's right."

"Oooh," Kurt said, his eyes bright. "Didja see anything?"

Marie shrugged.

"Not really. If I hadn't seen Remy—Remy's the one with red and black eyes, right?" Marie looked around and continued when she got nods in reply. "Well, we saw him climbing down one of the dorms and the next thing we see is the smoke coming out of the windows."

"Interesting," Kurt said thoughtfully, jotting this down on his notepad.

"All the other boys came out of the dorm not long after that," Marie said.

"If Remy doesn't know how to put together a smoke bomb and get all the materials on the sly, I don't know who does," Wanda said. "And it's completely feasible he could get into people's rooms without noticing too."

"Oh?" Marie asked.

"Remy's a little sneak," Callisto said derisively.

"And he's the prank king around here," Wanda added with a nod. "Although John may give him a run for his money."

"They're in separate buildings, right?" Kurt asked.

"Duh," Callisto said with a look that asked Kurt if he was stupid or something. Remy and John's prank war their freshman year had gotten so out of hand that they had been deliberately put in separate dorms ever since. Sure, it hadn't stopped the pranking, but at least they made it harder for Remy and John to retaliate against each other.

"Excellent. I think I just got my prime suspects."


	4. Faces In The Hall

**Chapter 4: Faces In The Hall**

While Kurt attempted to keep an open mind he quickly became convinced that Remy and John were responsible for the smoke bombs. John had visited a number of his housemates after curfew, mostly for the purpose of scaring freshmen. The fact that other students had also moved around at that time, moreso in Pyro's block, seemed inconsequential. A number of the other boys he talked to also suspected Remy and John, if only because they were known for pulling pranks.

While changing into their gym uniforms for class the next day, Scott asked Kurt how his investigation was going. Kurt was confident enough by that point to declare that he believed Remy and John were responsible and why.

"Interesting theory, mon ami," Remy said as he strode towards the locker room door, now clad in his blue uniform. "But that's all it is, a theory. A whole lot of speculation and no proof. You ain't ever gonna make it as a detective without good, solid evidence."

"So, you deny being involved?" Scott demanded in his yellow uniform, blocking Remy's way.

"I wouldn't confess to a crime I did commit," Remy replied, stepping around Scott to continue on his way, "I sure ain't gonna admit doing something I didn't."

Remy disappeared out the door and everyone looked at John. He noticed their attention and pulled a face at them.

"Me? Smoke bombs?" he asked. "Why would I make a smoke bomb when I could make a fire bomb?"

"Because a fire bomb would have caused damage and would have gotten you in a whole lot more trouble than just detention," Scott replied assuredly.

"Why would I make a smoke bomb _when I could make a fire bomb_?" John deliberately repeated himself as he also headed for the door.

The other boys followed close behind. Scott, Kurt, and most of the others were still satisfied that Remy and John were responsible. With four more afternoons of detention left, the male boarders were eager for someone to blame.

"About time you got out here, maggots," Victor declared as they emerged from the locker room. "What were you doing in there? Having a mother's meeting?"

"Nah, we were measuring. I'm the biggest, by the way," Remy said with a wink towards the girls on the Brotherhood, "but Summers... well, he probably belongs in a mother's meeting..."

"Screw you, LeBeau," Scott snapped at him.

Remy shrugged and threw a grin at Scott.

"Okay, chérie," he said simply.

The implication was not lost on Scott but Logan and Victor called their teams to order before he could respond. The students were informed (more for the benefit of the newer ones) that Wednesdays were one mile run day, and they headed outside.

Marie was a little surprised to find that instead of having to run around the field four times like she had to at her old school there was actually a designated track, exactly one mile long, for them to run. The run, as Marie soon discovered, took the students on a scenic tour of the school. It went past the football field, around a classroom block, down to the lake, via the dorms, and finally back to the sporting grounds.

Although Logan was only responsible for tracking the times of his team he was rather pleased when Marie was the fourth person over the line, right behind Pietro, Remy, and Scott, and just before Jean and Callisto. Once over the line the students took some time to wind down before sitting and chatting with their friends.

The last one over the line was Todd and Victor made a point of embarrassing him in front of everyone as a reward.

"You call that a good time?" Victor demanded, gesturing towards Fred. "Even the blob over there beat you."

On Thursday the students endured more football drills during gym class and finally on Friday they had their first game against each other. It was nine-man football so the Brotherhood had one reserve, Fred, and the X-Men had two, which Logan rotated throughout. Fred was glad that Victor didn't want him to play, he never did like sports, or Victor, and only chose the Brotherhood because of the other students.

Partway through the game Lance accidentally-on-purpose tripped and fell to the ground, taking Kitty with him.

"Hey," Lance didn't give her a chance to reply before kissing her.

"Alvers, stop fraternising with the enemy!" Victor yelled at him.

Kitty pushed Lance off and was out from under him so fast it was almost like she walked right through him. Logan caught up with her momentarily to check she was okay.

"Did you want to put in a complaint?" he asked.

"A complaint?" Kitty asked with a frown, then realised what he was getting at. "Oh, no, it's fine. He's my boyfriend."

Logan grunted. "Fine, but in the future keep it out of class."

"Yes, Coach."

At last the game came to an end with the X-Men securing victory. The coaches called their teams together and Logan applauded his team for their win while Victor berated the Brotherhood, telling them they'd have to improve before Homecoming. The students then returned to the locker rooms to shower and change.

"What's happening at Homecoming?" Marie asked Wanda as they walked to the locker rooms.

"It's our turn to play the football match this year," Wanda replied. "Last year we got to set up for the dance."

Marie nodded, realising that by "our" and "we" Wanda meant their half of the student body. The other half of the student body was also divided into X-Men and Brotherhood teams, but it would be quite unusual for all members of the X-Men and all members of the Brotherhood to play together.

"Huh," Marie said. "I never thought I'd end up playing in the Homecoming football game."

Wanda chuckled knowingly.

"We don't have a dedicated team or anything here?" Marie asked

"Nope," Wanda replied.

"Hmm, that suggests a distinct lack of cheerleaders and pep rallies."

"Yep. It's the best thing about this school," Wanda said cheerfully. "The worst part is that they make up for it with gym class."

"Oh?"

"Let's just say we don't refer to the gym as the danger room for nothing."

* * *

Remy frowned when he poured a little bit of shampoo on his hand while in the shower and the liquid came out orange. This was cause for concern mostly because his shampoo was of the clear variety. He washed his hand off and then set the bottle aside. Looked like he wasn't going to wash his hair tonight.

It had been a long week. The after school detentions had been a real pest but at least they were over now. Remy was a little annoyed, but not surprised, that he and John got the blame from their peers. He was certainly not surprised that one of them had gone to the liberty of sneaking into his room to put dye in his shampoo. He made a mental note to improve security, not that there was too much more he could do to secure his bedroom as they weren't allowed to put locks on the doors.

Remy finished off his shower mulling over the likely suspects, which was pretty much every male boarder in the school. Scott was a strong possibility as one of the more vocal about the injustice of the detention situation but Scott was not one to pull pranks. Remy supposed he could pull a mass-effect prank but he generally preferred revenge pranks to be personally targeted.

* * *

The last person to enter the junior's rollcall the next morning was John and he looked quite miserable with a head full of bright orange hair. Emma Frost gave John a long look as he sat down next to Remy.

"John Allerdyce," Emma said, consulting a clipboard in front of her. "Nice of you to finally join us. You have detention this afternoon."

"Aww come on Ms Frost," John pleaded. "It weren't my fault. Someone put dye in my shampoo."

"And if I let you off with that excuse, I would have to let everyone off," Emma replied coolly. "You will spend detention washing out your hair."

"That's what I was doing all last night and all this morning!" John objected. "It won't come out."

Sam covered his mouth and tried not to laugh.

"Do you have something you wish to add, Samuel?" Emma asked.

"Ahem. No ma'am," Sam replied.

Emma gave Sam a long look then turned her attention back to John.

"If the dye won't wash out, you will simply have to redye your hair. I'm sure we can arrange something," she said and continued with rollcall.

Remy nudged John while they waited for the bell.

"Someone put dye in my shampoo too," he said quietly. "This is why I always pour some on my hand first."

"Oh damn," John said. "You'd think with all the pranks we pull I would have thought of that myself."

Remy chuckled.

"You realise of course," John went on, "that this means war."

"Oh yes," Remy replied, smirking.

* * *

Since there were too many possibilities for the hair dye incident, Remy and John decided to narrow it down to the group of the most likely culprits: the X-Men in their gym class. For the rest of the week they used their time in the locker rooms after gym class to make note of which showers the X-Men used. Although none of them were designated it was normal behaviour for people to establish routines for themselves, such as using the same shower.

It was a little matter for Remy to sneak into the kitchen to procure the small item he required to pull off the prank they had planned. Although he needed a reasonable amount to do the job properly, what he took was only a small portion of what was available and he doubted it would be missed.

The other thing the boys did in preparation was to practice taking off the shower heads in their ensuite bathrooms and putting them back on again. They worked on getting their times as low as possible and once they were satisfied they could be no faster they started the next phase.

Remy and John chose a Wednesday for the prank because it would be guaranteed that everyone would get sweaty enough to need to shower. Remy made a point of getting to the locker room as early as he could and started taking out the shower heads, putting a beef bouillon cube inside, and reattaching them. He managed to get four of the seven done before any of the X-Men arrived. He changed and when John showed up he held up four fingers to let him know how many he had done.

John was deliberately late and took his time getting dressed. Once all the X-Men had left John went about sabotaging the last of the shower heads. Neither John nor Remy cared if their teammates saw them, they weren't the ones who were going to be pranked, and in any case there would be time to have a quick word with them during class.

Remy managed to divert Victor's attention so that John's tardiness wasn't noticed and he didn't end up with yet another detention. Everyone then lined up for the run and Logan gave them the cue to start.

As usual, Pietro was the first to finish. Remy was second over the line and, discreetly away from the coaches, Pietro sidled up to him.

"I see you left a few surprises in the locker room," Pietro murmured.

"I admit nothing," Remy reply slyly. "But I have reason to believe that the X-Men will be sporting a new fragrance later today."

Pietro snickered and let it go at that. He wasn't one of the victims, which meant he could sit back and enjoy.

The class finished without incident, unless Victor berating the slowest of his team counted as an incident, in which case no Wednesday class went without one. Everyone was sent back to the showers to wash and change. Remy and John (and the few other Brotherhood who had seen Remy and John at work) kept a straight face while the X-Men showered and then departed. The beauty of using the beef bouillon was that it washed out through the shower head clear and therefore wasn't immediately evident that they had been pranked.

* * *

Jean sniffed the air suspiciously and looked around at the lunch table with a slight frown on her face.

"Can anyone else smell something beefy?" she asked.

"I can," said Scott, stabbing at his lunch with his fork. "I've smelt it for awhile now actually."

"Same," said Kurt as Jean turned her head towards Scott and sniffed reflectively.

"Jumping on the bandwagon," said Kitty. "There's definite a beef smell hanging around."

"Yeah, I've been smelling beef too," said Warren from across the table while Jean pressed her nose to Scott's bare arm. "It's gotten me in the mood for some."

"It's you," Jean exclaimed, pointing at Scott.

"Me?" Scott asked in surprise. "That's crazy."

"Nu-huh, it's definitely coming from you," Jean insisted. "Smell your arm."

Scott looked hesitant.

"Smell it," Jean repeated, giving him a look.

Scott sighed but he put his bare arm to his nose. He was all prepared to announce that the smell wasn't coming from him at all when he got a relatively strong whiff of beef.

"Damn, you're right," he said. "I do smell like beef. But I... I don't... How?"

"I'd say you've been pranked," Warren grinned as Candy sniffed at him experimentally.

"Ohhh," Candy giggled, "you've been pranked too."

"What?"

Very soon, everyone at the table was smelling themselves. Scott, Piotr, Warren, and Kurt all smelt like beef, while none of the girls did and neither did Sam or Cameron. It didn't take long for the boys to figure out what the connection was and they soon checked with Jamie, Bobby, and David on the beef issue.

"How," asked David. "That's what I want to know. Did they tamper with our deodorant or something?"

"If they tampered with our deodorant, we would only smell like beef in places we put it," Warren said, then added with an unimpressed look, "and _some_ of us don't use deodorant."

"I don't care how they did it," said Bobby. "What I want to know is, what are we going to do to get back at them?"

"Yeah," Jamie agreed.

"I actually don't care how they did it or getting revenge," said Scott, looking at the younger boys with some disdain. "The beef smell will wash off eventually and smelling like beef isn't grounds for detention. I say we just drop it."

"That's no fun," said Kurt, looking disappointed.

"Scott's right," Warren nodded, "let's be the bigger men and let it slide."

"Yeah, besides, this prank doesn't get us detention but who's to say the next one won't?" added David. "Plus, I'm graduating this year and I'd prefer to concentrate on my studies, not on pranks."

"Agreed," Warren said.

The impromptu meeting broke up after that. However, back in the dorms later that evening, Bobby met with Jamie in his room to brainstorm some pranks to pull on the Brotherhood.


	5. New Friend Request

**Chapter 5: ****New Friend Request**

Marie never imagined Homecoming would make her feel homesick, yet there she was, shopping with Wanda for a new dress to wear to the dance, missing home and her friends terribly. She hadn't lost contact with them, they stayed up to date with each other through social media, but it wasn't the same. She was missing Cody in particular. He was really looking forward to the game and Marie realised that this would be the first time she'd ever miss one of his games.

"Decided yet?" Wanda wandered over to Marie with a bag in hand. "We're going to have to get going soon if we're going to get to Warren's party."

"Warren's having a party?" Marie asked absently as she riffled through the racks of clothes.

"He didn't invite you?" Wanda asked then shrugged it off. "Must just be because you're new. He won't mind if you come. You know, normally I avoid these kinds of parties, but some of the food that the Worthington's chef cooks up is to die for. He makes these pastry twists—Italian Crostoli—which are so amazing they're gone in the first half hour."

"So you're saying you're only going for the food?" Marie asked teasingly.

"I'm sure not going for the company," Wanda replied.

Marie chuckled and lifted up a little green number. "I'll just try this one on."

* * *

Not long thereafter Marie looked out of the window of Erik Lehnsherr's car as he pulled up outside of the Worthington estate. Marie knew Xavier's school was expensive and a lot of the students attending came from money but she hadn't actually appreciated that knowledge until she was confronted with the size and lavish appearance of the mansion that was Warren's home.

Pietro opened up the car door as they came to a stop.

"Thanks, dad," he said as he got out.

"I'll pick you up at seven," Erik said, watching as Wanda also left, Pietro shutting his door.

"Thanks, Mr Lehnsherr," Marie said as she followed Wanda out.

Erik gave her a nod and as soon as the teenagers were clear he departed. Marie followed Wanda and Pietro up to the big doors which were opened for them even before they had a chance to knock. The butler waved them into the entertaining room.

Marie, who had begun to feel very uncomfortable around so much luxury, felt a little better once they were inside. The grandeur of the room was offset by so many teenagers in casual clothing, most of whom she knew from school, although it was a little strange seeing the day students, like Warren and Kurt, out of uniform.

Wanda made a beeline for the food and Marie followed with a grin on her face as the girl scored a couple of the Italian Crostoli she coveted so much. Marie picked up one and immediately understood why they didn't last long.

"Wanda," Warren joined them at the buffet table, giving a nod to Marie. "Marie. Glad you could make it."

Wanda help up one of the pastries and grinned.

"Like I'd miss out on this," she said.

Warren chuckled then gestured to the room at large.

"Make yourself at home," he said and then headed over to Pietro to welcome him properly too.

"Don't mind if I do," Wanda replied then nudged Marie. "See? He didn't even remember he didn't invite you. Ha!"

Marie chuckled.

Marie spent most of the party hanging around Wanda, who in turn, made frequent visits to the buffet table in between watching some of the boys play console games on the widescreen TV. Apparently Wanda was far more interested in John than the gaming. Marie wasn't interested in either.

About an hour or so into the party Mr and Mrs Worthington appeared. Warren spotted them almost immediately and hurried over.

"You're going now?" he asked.

"Yes," his mother replied. "Have fun with your party, Angel. We'll see you later tonight."

She gave the now embarrassed Warren a quick kiss on the cheek while Mr Worthington told Warren (and everyone else) to make sure they behaved. As soon as Warren's parents left the room, Remy sidled up to Warren with a deck of cards in his hands.

"Hi, Angel," Remy said sweetly with a massive on his face.

"Can it, LeBeau," Warren retorted.

Remy chuckled.

"We playing poker now?" Remy asked.

"Yep."

"Finally."

A round table in the far corner was cleared off and Warren, Remy, Lance, Sam, and Cameron sat down with Remy's deck of cards. Casually, Marie made her way over to watch. Poker was something Logan had taught her how to play and for a time she had believed if she became really good maybe her father would stay with her. Marie was disgusted with her own naivety but she was still interested in the game for its own sake.

The first thing that came to Marie's attention was that they were betting with real money, something she'd never actually done before. The five of them were also taking the game quite seriously, perhaps for that reason. She watched from a distance for a while and then walked over.

"May I play?" she asked with a hand on her hip. "Or is this little game of yours boys only?"

"It's open to anyone with the cash to play, chère," Remy said, smirking up at her. "If you've got that, pull up a chair. Just don't expect any of us to explain the rules."

Marie smiled as she pushed a chair in and Warren moved his slightly so she could fit. She had a fair chunk of change from her earlier shopping which she had no intention of returning to Logan's possession.

"Don't mind if I do," she said.

The boys finished playing their hand, dealing Marie into the next round. Remy quickly learned that Marie didn't need any rules explained as had been most of his experiences playing poker with girls and it was a nice change. Remy won the hand, Sam the next one, then Lance passed the cards to Remy. Remy shuffled the cards in one hand, a trick he had all but perfected, and then dealt them out with one hand, another trick he was still working on.

"Stop trying to show off," Warren said when his second card nearly slid right off the table. "You're not impressing anyone."

"Anyone can deal cards, mon ami," Remy replied. "But I do it in style."

"Like I said, you're not impressing anyone," Warren said, then glanced over at her. "Not even Marie."

Marie lifted up the corner of her cards to see what they were then smiled as she laid them flat again.

"The only thing I'm impressed by right now, gentlemen, are these cards," she said and as it was her turn to open the betting she placed a bill on the table, announcing her bet.

The boys all met her bet and Remy dealt out three community cards: two Kings and a three. Marie looked at the cards with a thoughtful expression on her face while Sam and Cameron placed their bets. When it came to her turn she called Cameron's bet.

"Call," Warren said.

"Fold," Lance pushed his cards to the side.

"Call," said Remy, adding his cash.

"Call," Sam said, putting another bill onto the pile.

Remy dealt out the fourth card, another three.

"I fold," Sam tossed his cards down.

"Raise," Cameron put down more notes.

"I raise too," Marie upped the ante.

"Call," said Warren.

Remy looked at the cards on the table, the three still in the game, and considered his own pair of cards.

"Fold," he said, finally, laying his cards down.

"Call," Cameron matched Marie's raise.

Remy dealt out the fifth and final community card.

Cameron looked at the cards then pulled out more money. "Raise."

"Call," Marie said and then rifled through her purse for the cash.

"You sure you want to do that?" Cameron asked her as she lifted out the money.

"Sure I'm sure," Marie replied, placing the bills on the table, "but it's just so kind of you to be concerned, sugar."

Warren chuckled as he set his own cards aside. "I fold."

Cameron shook his head as he flipped over his cards, a three and a four. "Full House, Kings and Threes. Sorry, babe."

Marie smiled sweetly as she turned over her cards; the other two Kings.

"Four of a Kind," she said, "and don't call me 'babe'."

Remy chuckled as Marie collected her winnings. The cards were handed over to Sam who started shuffling.

"Nicely played, chère," he said.

"Thank you, sugar," Marie replied.

"You're not going to tell him off for calling you 'chère'?" Cameron asked.

"No," Marie replied. "I like 'chère'. I don't like 'babe'."

"Well, maybe I don't like 'sugar'," Cameron said.

"It would explain your sour disposition," Marie said as Sam began to deal everyone their two cards.

The game continued. Lance was the first one to quit. Cameron left a couple of rounds later when he had all but completely run out of cash. Warren went third. Sam stuck around for some time, but eventually it was just Remy and Marie at the table. It was getting close to seven when Wanda advised her of the time.

"Better make this the last round then," Marie said as she dealt the cards.

"Oui," Remy agreed.

He put in his bet and checked his cards, then watched as Marie matched his bet and dealt out the first three community cards. By this stage of the game Remy had actually lost interest in the cards and gained a whole new one in Marie. Not only did she know how to play poker, she was the first girl he'd ever played with who was good enough to give him a run for his money.

Marie chewed her bottom lip as she placed her bet for that round and Remy matched her. The only classes they actually shared were rollcall, gym, and occasionally eating meals with the same group, so he hadn't given her any more thought than he had any of the other girls at the school. He may have given her more thought if their coach had been Logan rather than Victor, but he wasn't, so Remy hadn't. To him Marie was just another pretty girl and he'd get around to her eventually.

She placed down the fourth card and Remy noted that he was one card shy of having a straight, four to eight. His hand wasn't entirely useless as he also had a pair of eights. He placed his bet and Marie called him before dealing the final card, another eight. He studied her thoughtfully for a moment, knowing Marie had a potential straight as well but wondering if she had the right cards. She looked back at him with smiling bright green eyes.

"Raise," Remy finally said, placing the money on the table.

Marie called him. The money was pulled and Remy turned over his cards.

"Three of a Kind," he declared.

Marie turned hers over.

"Straight," she said with a slight smile, "four to eight."

"Damn," Remy muttered under his breath.

Marie chuckled and held her right hand out to him as her left gathered the money. "Good game."

Although Marie obviously intended to shake hands, Remy turned her hand as he took it and bestowed a kiss upon her knuckles instead.

"It was indeed, ma chère," he said, holding her gaze. "We shall have to play again sometime."

"I look forward to it."

* * *

Remy went about his usual methods of distraction on Sunday so it wasn't until gym class on Monday that Remy had the pleasure of Marie's company again. Unfortunately, Victor drilled his team hard that week in anticipation for the Homecoming game and Remy didn't have a chance to get a word in with Marie.

Mealtimes were a whole different story. While everyone tended to have breakfast in their respective residential buildings, the cafeteria always saw everyone for lunch and dinner. It was easy enough to get a seat near Marie as they often sat at the same table. Unfortunately, she was rather quiet and subdued for most of the week and he could never engage her in conversation long enough to turn things to his advantage. He thought about asking her if anything was wrong, but at sixteen, Remy already learned that this was a very dangerous question to ask a girl.

* * *

The crowd seemed a little lack lustre to Marie in comparison to previous Homecoming football games she attended but she supposed it was to be expected for a boarding school with a small student population. The families of the day students made up the majority of the out-of-school visitors. Marie found the small crowd decidedly odd but was not at all complaining about the absence of cheerleaders.

Kurt looked over the crowd and Kitty couldn't help but notice the disappointment on his face.

"Kurt?" she queried. "Something up?"

Kurt sighed and shrugged. "You know how I told you I met my birth mother over the summer?"

"Yeah?"

"I was hoping she'd be here today. I guess she couldn't make it."

Kitty patted his shoulder sympathetically. She would have said something but it was at that moment they were called to get into position on the field for their game of nine-man football.

As he had during all their practices, Victor declared Fred to be the reserve and kept him on the bench for the whole game. He was pleased to see that certain favourites of his, Remy and Lance, were able to keep the X-Men on their was also proving to be halfway decent. Victor would have been secretly disappointed had his niece turned out to be athletically incompetent.

Unfortunately for Victor, the X-Men (whom Logan rotated in and out of the two reserve positions) beat the Brotherhood. It was a close game and Victor was determined to push his team harder in the future. No way was he going to let Logan get the better of him.

* * *

A few hours later, Logan waited impatiently in the living room for Marie to finally leave her room. He was reluctantly dressed in a suit for the dance which was due to start soon and was impatient to get a night of chaperoning over with.

Finally he heard the sound of Marie's door opening and closing and he turned his head towards the hallway just as she entered the room. He gaped at her choice of dress, one he felt was far too mature for her meagre sixteen years. It was strapless with a gap in the shape of a tear drop in the middle just below her bust. The puffy skirt was far too short for Logan's taste (at least, not on his daughter).

"You are not going to the dance dressed like that!" he declared, horrified at the very idea and annoyed that the money he had given her to get a new dress for the occasion had gone towards that thing.

"Yes I am," Marie replied determinedly, glaring at him.

"Go back and change."

"No."

"I said, go back and change. Now."

"We have to go _now_. You're chaperoning, remember? Can't be late."

"They already have plenty of chaperones for forty-one students," Logan snapped. "There's less than a six to one student/teacher ratio here. Go. Get. Changed."

It was clear to Logan that Marie had inherited or otherwise been impressed by Raven's standards of dress. She was always wearing the bare minimum and Logan was quite convinced she would go around naked if she thought she could get away with it.

"No," Marie insisted, her gaze locked with her father's.

"I will not have you going around dressing like your slut of a mother," Logan shouted at her.

"She's not a—"

"She is! In the worst possible way! Raven wouldn't know how to be faithful if someone gave her a dictionary and that was the only word in it! Go back to your room, and I don't want to see you back out here until you're covering up more skin than you're showing, is that clear?"

They stared each other down and had Logan not been so upset he might have seen that his daughter had gotten a little something from him too. That very fact was the exact reason why the stare down lasted a good five minutes.

"Fine," Marie said tersely.

She turned on her heel and headed back to her room. Logan dropped his head, closed his eyes, and sighed. He probably shouldn't have brought Raven into this—Marie still refused to accept any negative notion about her mother—but he didn't want Marie to turn out like her. He wanted Marie to be better than the woman who had cheated on him throughout their entire relationship.

Marie returned shortly. To Logan's annoyance, she was still wearing the dress, but she had also put on a pair of stockings and a pair of elbow-length gloves that had been a parting gift to her from Irene. Why Irene had decided to give them to her, Marie had no idea. It wasn't like Irene could have foreseen this moment or anything.

"There," Marie said. "I'm covering up more than I'm showing. Happy now?"

Logan growled, but otherwise didn't reply except to head for the door. He berated himself again for bringing Raven into this. He just knew the clothing issue wasn't even close to being resolved.


	6. Let's Dance!

**Chapter 6: Let's Dance!**

Marie and Logan arrived at the dance just in time for Marie to watch Logan being mildly berated by Ororo for running late. He muttered something about a disagreement with Marie as his daughter walked off with a smirk on her face to join Wanda. There were already students on the dance floor and Marie didn't get very far when Remy intercepted her.

"I'm so glad you could make it, chère," he held out his hand, "care to dance?"

Marie looked down at his hand and then lifted her head to catch his eyes. Ever since Warren's party, Remy had been out for her attention. A part of her was flattered but a larger part just felt awkward. She was still feeling homesick and was still much too raw from breaking up with Cody to even consider getting involved in a new romantic relationship right now.

"No, I don't think so," she said and when she spied a flicker of disappointment in his eye added, "maybe later."

Remy dropped his hand and gave a slight shrug. "Later is it then."

Marie continued on her way as Remy walked off. Rejection stung but Remy had been rejected often enough in his time to no longer allow it to deter him from trying. He passed Kurt and Piotr on his way to find another girl to ask to dance.

"So, you going to ask anyone?" Kurt asked Piotr.

"Yes, no... I don't know," Piotr replied, watching Kitty dancing with Lance.

Kurt chuckled, "Still working on being more assertive?"

"It is not an easy process," Piotr said before adding quietly, "and the person I really want to ask is busy right now."

Kurt followed Piotr's line of sight and looked at Kitty.

"Still got a thing for Kitty, huh?" Kurt asked.

Piotr sighed. "Yeah."

Kurt patted him on the shoulder.

"Maybe just ask someone else? It's just a dance, not a date or anything," Kurt said. "It'll be good practice if nothing else. I'll even come with you for morale support."

Piotr was quiet for a moment before finally turning his head towards Kurt and nodding.

"Great," Kurt said. "And all I ask in return is that you be my wingman when I work up the nerve to ask Amanda."

Piotr chuckled. "It is a deal."

Partway through the night Professor Xavier was calling for everyone's attention.

"And this year's Homecoming King and Queen are..." he was reading off a card from the stage in front of the live band, "Warren Worthington and Jean Grey."

Kitty nudged Lance as Jean and Warren walked to the stage to receive their crowns.

"Bet Scott and Candy are just thrilled about that," Kitty said.

Lance snickered.

Their first duty as King and Queen was to open the next dance. Certain trouble makers weren't beneath yelling out to Jean and Warren to kiss but out of respect for their partners, if nothing else, their lips remained apart. Soon enough Scott decided to make the most of it by asking Candy to dance and were subsequently the first couple to join Jean and Warren on the dance floor followed by Lance and Kitty.

During the course of the night, most likely because of the small number of people and the two-to-one boy/girl ratio, there were few people actually dancing. Still, Marie watched Remy do the rounds of the room asking most of the girls to dance with him, including ones Marie knew were freshmen.

"Yeah, Remy thinks he's some sort of ladies man," Wanda said when Marie commented on it. "He's always flirting and dating but he hasn't had a single girlfriend since he's been here. In fact, last year Joanna over there tried telling everyone that he was her boyfriend and you should have seen the scene he caused. He completely embarrassed her in front of everyone. It was hilarious. Oh, I mean 'poor Joanna, Remy was such a jerk to her'. Ahem."

Marie giggled but the story also made her think that perhaps she had been reading too much into the attention he'd been giving her the past week. If that was the way he acted towards all the girls then she didn't have to worry about him being interested in her when she wasn't at all ready to move on from Cody.

Not long after that Remy came over to them and asked Wanda for a dance which she accepted. Marie watched them and felt like Wanda's acceptance demonstrated that she could dance with Remy without sending the wrong message, after all, it was John who Wanda had eyes for. In fact, that very knowledge gave Marie a smile when, at the conclusion of the dance, Remy led Wanda towards John and—although Marie couldn't hear what was being said—arranged for John to take Wanda for a dance though the pyromaniac didn't get nearly as close to Wanda as Remy had. Marie gathered that had more to do with awkward butterflies in the stomach of two people who should just go on a date already than anything else.

The teachers danced as well. Emma Frost was particularly popular and even accepted dances from the few older students who had the nerve to ask her, Remy and Scott amongst them. Marie was a little surprised when she saw her father dance with Ororo.

Logan spent the evening—aside from that one dance with Ororo—watching the students in general and Marie in particular. She seemed happy enough with friends and even accepted dances with some of the guys who asked her—Sam, Bobby, and Pietro. But when she was on her own she seemed to shrink into her space as if attempting to blend in with the wall and looked miserable. Logan wanted more than anything to be able to cheer his little girl up but he had no idea where to start.

Eventually, Remy found his way back to Marie. He noticed her watching him throughout the evening and had seen her dance with others so he was hopeful, if apprehensive, about her accepting his second invitation to dance. She was finishing off a cup of punch when he approached.

"So chère," he said. "Is it later now?"

Marie looked up at him as she finished off her drink. Setting the cup aside she held her hand out to him.

"Sure," she said, "why not?"

It wasn't exactly the enthusiastic response Remy was hoping for but he'd take it. He led her out onto the dance floor where they dance to what remained of the song.

"Another?" Remy asked. "That was only half a song."

Marie smiled and agreed. She had seen him dance with girls two songs in a row previously and thought nothing of it. They danced and when the second song came to its inevitable conclusion Marie started to walk away but Remy held her hand fast.

"One more?' he inquired as the band began to play a slow song.

"I don't know..." Marie replied hesitantly but Remy was already sliding his other hand around her waist and gazing deeply into her eyes. She seemed to forget she hadn't actually answered his question and allowed him to draw her into one more dance.

Remy didn't know what the source of Marie's reluctance was but he was pretty pleased with himself for sneaking in a slow dance with her. He blessed the band's timing. Marie fit perfectly into his arms and there was the added bonus of whenever he looked down he got a pretty good view down her dress. Not that he would ever exploit that... at least not in a way he could get caught.

Partway through the song Marie leaned into him and rested her head on his shoulder. Remy fought to keep the silly grin that wanted to appear off his face. He would have been less happy if he knew that Marie had been thinking of Cody the whole time and she just didn't want him to see her feeling miserable.

Logan watched the dance with narrow eyes as Victor wandered over to him.

"Having a good evening?" Victor asked and then barrelled on without bothering to wait for a reply. "Ahh, I see that my beloved niece is dancing with LeBeau."

Logan ignored him, 'beloved niece' indeed.

"Well, it shouldn't surprise me. He gets around with all the girls," Victor went on, thoroughly enjoying himself with the knowledge of the bomb he was going to drop on his half-brother.

Still Logan didn't reply. Victor leaned in nice and close.

"I know for a fact that LeBeau's sexually active," Victor said smugly.

Logan growled. Victor chuckled wickedly.

"You know, that sort of thing's frowned upon here," Logan said in a low voice.

"Yeah, but how are we to stop a couple of teenagers from going at it like a pair of rabbits? There's only so much we can do to keep them apart and LeBeau is pretty darn sneaky," Victor replied.

"Actually, I meant you following him into the locker room and—" Logan's dark insinuation was cut off by Victor's laughter.

"You can try and twist this anyway you please, little brother," Victor smirked, "but we both know the truth, your baby girl is in the arms of a budding womaniser. Don't have trouble sleeping tonight."

Victor walked off leaving Logan to stew as the song came to an end. Remy kissed Marie's hand and lead her over to the side with the appearance of a perfect gentleman.

"Merci for the dances, ma chère," Remy said.

"You're quite welcome," Marie replied.

She sat down on a nearby chair and was a little concerned when he sat down next to her. Marie took a moment to remind herself what Wanda has said about him getting and around before asking, "Out of girls to dance with?"

"Actually yes," Remy replied, grinning slyly back at her, "the only ones left are either on my black list or they've turned me down."

"Black list?"

"Yeah, like Joanna over there," Remy said, giving a nod in Joanna's direction. "Bad history."

"Ahh."

"So, spent all your winnings yet?" Remy asked, determined not to let the conversation fall flat.

"Huh? Oh," Marie paused, remembering the poker game from last week, "no, but I'm planning on going shopping tomorrow if I can get a lift to the mall."

She looked down at her gloves, oh yes, she planned to go shopping all right.

"Well, as luck would have it," Remy began.

"Don't tell me you can drive," Marie said, looking at him with a sceptically raised eyebrow.

"Not legally," Remy replied with mischief. "But actually I was going to say I scored a lift tomorrow with Warren and Candy—Warren has a car. I don't think anyone else has asked so there should be a seat for you. I can check for you."

"Oh, uhh, sure, that would be appreciated."

"Great," Remy edged over to her in his chair, "and then maybe we could hang out."

Marie hesitated and then looked down at her lap.

"Do you mean 'hang out' as in 'hang out' or 'hang out' as in 'date'?" she asked cautiously.

Remy lifted his hand and brushed a lock of her white hair out of her face and behind her ear.

"Hang out," he said softly, "but if you want to make it a date...?"

"No," Marie said sharply. "No I definitely do not."

She sighed, realising how it may have sounded to him and lifted her head to catch his eyes.

"I just broke up with my boyfriend of three years," she felt like she should be up front, "and we only broke up because my father went and dragged me here. I just don't want to deal with dating right now."

"Ahh, oui, fathers," Remy replied in a grim tone, taking her hand. "They have a way of interfering with our love lives, don't they? Well, I shall confess to some disappointment, but until you've changed your mind about dating I'm still happy to just hang out with you."

"You don't even know me."

"Why do you think I want to change that?"

Marie smiled at him. She chewed her bottom lip briefly and then nodded.

"Okay," she said, "but are you sure you want to go clothes shopping with me?"

Remy shrugged with a grin. "I've gone clothes shopping with femmes plenty of times. I think you'll be quite impressed with my sense of style."

* * *

Logan narrowed his eyes as he looked up from his morning paper and saw Marie enter the kitchen. She was wearing a purple shirt with three-quarter length sleeves, black jeans, boots, and the elbow length gloves from last night as well as her heavy, dark make up. He knew the clothing discussion wasn't over but neither said a word as Marie went about getting her breakfast.

"Plans for today?" Logan asked, finally deciding not to mention the gloves.

"Shopping," Marie replied brazenly as she buttered her toast. "I feel the need to update my wardrobe."

Logan pressed his lip together. He finished off his coffee and then put his newspaper down by the empty mug.

"Anna—"

"Marie," she corrected him shortly.

"Darlin', I need to talk to you about something," Logan said, determined not to be deterred.

"So talk," she said, and bit off a mouthful of toast.

"It's about boys—"

Marie swallowed her toast so fast she almost choked.

"Oh please don't tell me you're going to try and give me the sex talk," Marie eyes were wide with horror.

"I'm going to give your mother the benefit of the doubt and assume that she's already had that discussion with you," Logan replied with some concern as she coughed and spluttered. "You okay?"

"Fine."

"Good. No, I want to talk to you about boys," Logan said. "Boys aren't always respectful to girls, and sometimes if a boy is really interested in you, he might try to push you to go further than you're—"

"Mama and I did talk about this," Marie said urgently, hoping to cut this conversation off before it went any further.

"Yeah, well, while I trust Raven to have spoken to you about pregnancy and that time of the month, I'm not convinced she would have given you the best advice about protecting your virtue—"

"Protecting my—"

"Now, I don't know how, umm, serious you and Cody were—"

"Well, whose damn fault is that?" Marie snapped at him "Maybe if you were ever actually around, maybe if you ever bothered to be in my life, you might know what's going on! Just stop pretending that you care, _father_. We both know you don't."

Marie snatched up the rest of her toast and stormed out, slamming the front door behind her as she left. Logan closed his eyes and sighed. Mending the bridges between them was going to be a lot harder than he thought.

* * *

Later, Marie joined Warren, Candy, and Remy at the admin building where Warren's white sports car was temporarily parked. The four went into to sign themselves out and then piled into Warren's car. Marie made sure to thank Warren for the ride.

"So, what's with the gloves?" Remy asked Marie from where he sat next to her in the back seat.

"Father-dearest didn't like my clothes last night. He thought they were too revealing and he wanted me to cover up more skin than I showed," Marie said. "I'm gonna cover up all right."

Remy chuckled wickedly.

"Ahh pissing off fathers," Remy said, "one of my favourite hobbies."

"Really, Remy?" Warren asked slyly, glancing at him in the rear view mirror. "I never would have guessed."

"Actually I was thinking more about pissing off my own father, but that works too," Remy responded. "Best thing about boarding school is not having to put up with his crap."

"Hear, hear," said Candy.

Before too long, Warren dropped off Remy and Marie at the mall with a promise to pick them up when they were ready to go home. It was only once they were inside that Marie realised she didn't know what Remy's plans were.

"Oh just a little window shopping and then I was going to catch a movie," he replied.

By "window shopping" he actually meant "shoplifting and picking pockets" but he wasn't about to admit he was a thief to just anyone. In any case, Marie took his words at face value and agreed to go see the movie with him when they were done shopping.

It took Remy a little while before he realised Marie wasn't so much shopping for clothes as she was for accessories, particularly gloves, although she didn't turn down any cheap, long-sleeved shirts she found. His devious mind kicked in and with a bit of searching he found exactly what he was looking for.

"See, if you wear this," Remy said, holding up the green mesh shirt, "you can wear the tiniest shirt you have underneath and your dad won't be able to complain you're too revealing."

Marie lifted the shirt out of his hands and grinned.

"Well, it's official," she said, "I'm including you in all my diabolical evil schemes."

"In that case, I hope you do lots of scheming," he replied, grinning back at her.

* * *

Logan leaned on the door frame of Marie's room as she unpacked her new things later that day.

"We need to finish our discussion from this morning," he said.

Marie didn't reply, just continued to stuff her new gloves in her drawer in stony silence.

"Look, I realise I wasn't around as much as I should have been but that doesn't mean I don't care about you," Logan continued, "and right now my biggest concern is that you might be taken advantage of—"

"It's so nice to know you have such high level of confidence in me," Marie cut in sarcastically.

"It ain't about that. You're still a kid, and kids your age always think they know everything, can do everything, and they're indestructible. I know, I was a kid once too," Logan said, "and I've seen too many ki-young women like you end up hurt 'cause the fella they were with didn't treat 'em right. I don't want some punk kid thinking about nothing but his own personal gratification to pressure you into doing something you're not ready to do. And some of them aren't even up front about it. Some of them resort to sneaky tricks like emotional blackmail to get what they want. I don't want you to be a victim."

Marie turned and grabbed hold of the bedroom door.

"I'm not going to be a victim," she said. "I can take care of myself just fine."

Logan removed his fingers just in time to avoid having the door slammed on them. He growled and thought about barging back in there and giving her a piece of his mind and it took all his restraint not to. Marie didn't need any more reasons to hate him.


	7. Cookie Jar

**Chapter 7: Cookie Jar**

"Alright, punks," Victor said as his team gathered at one end of the gymnasium, "the game's indoor field hockey. Grab a stick, a ball, and a partner, then practice passing. Get started."

Marie walked over to the wall with the rest of her team to select a hockey stick. She started to turn around only to come face to face with Remy.

"Wanna be my partner?" he asked her.

Marie cleared her throat. She had intended on partnering up with Wanda but that clearly wasn't going to happen, especially now that Wanda was grinning slyly at her. The girl heard all about Marie hanging out with Remy on Saturday and insisted that, where Remy was concerned, it was a date whether they called it that or not.

"Sure," Marie replied.

They lined up on the floor, spacing themselves apart at the distance Victor had dictated, and began to practice.

While monitoring his own team at practice, Logan couldn't help but notice that Marie and Remy had paired off. He gritted his teeth but refused to let Victor see he was at all concerned about his daughter hanging around with Remy. After all, for all he knew, Victor had been lying to him about Remy's behaviour toward girls.

Despite his best efforts, Victor did notice Logan glancing over at Marie every now and then. Victor didn't even bother to hide his smirk. Fred also noticed Victor was in a good mood, as he didn't call him names as much.

At the end of the class, when the students were dismissed to the locker rooms, Victor asked Remy to stay behind. Some of the other students glanced at him as they walked off but Remy and Victor ignored them until everyone, including Logan, had left the gymnasium.

"Skunkhead's the new flavour of the month?" Victor asked.

Remy shrugged, he didn't really like that description, and replied with, "Guess you could say that."

A toothy grin appeared Victor's face. "Good. Be sure to hit on her in class."

"I think I can manage that," Remy said.

Victor dismissed him and Remy headed to the locker room. He was a little annoyed about Victor's request but at the same time his mind was ticking over the ways he could use it to his advantage. It wasn't like he'd be going out of his way or anything, he was already interested in Marie, even if she wasn't interested in dating right now.

* * *

Remy didn't care to discuss the matter with Marie during lunch so he instead caught up with her after school when all the boarders were headed back to their dorms. It was easy to get Marie alone as she was the only one who headed towards the teacher's section. Most of the teachers lived on campus.

"Hey," he said as he walked up beside her.

Marie turned her head and paused in her step as he caught up. "Hey."

"So, I figured I should give you the heads up," Remy said as he walked with her. "Creed wants me to hit on you during gym to annoy Howlett."

"He does?" Marie asked, blinking in surprise.

"Yeah, that's why he called me back after class today," Remy said. "Anyway, Creed's not someone I lightly care to piss off, so I figure I'll go ahead and flirt with you. I just didn't want you to think I wasn't taking you seriously when you said you're not interested in dating right now."

Marie nodded, a little hesitant about believing him. On the one hand, she could believe Victor and Logan would be more than happy to find ways to annoy each other. On the other, she didn't know much about Remy except that "ladies man" and "sneaky" were on the list of top five words used to describe him.

"Well, I appreciate the notice," she said finally and she shifted the strap of her laptop bag over her shoulder awkwardly as they continued walking to Logan's home.

"And if you're not comfortable with me flirting you can always make a big show of rejecting me," Remy said cheerfully. "That's bound to make your father happy which means Creed'll probably back off trying to annoy him through us."

"Yeah, he really doesn't like..." Marie trailed off and stopped short. She turned her head to look at Remy who was thrown off by her sudden stop. "That explains it."

"Explains what?"

"I think Creed must have already said something to my father about you," Marie tried to ignore the faint blush that rushed to her cheeks. "He tried to warn me about...uhh...never mind."

Remy laughed.

"He tried to warn you about me? Why he doesn't even know me," Remy feigning offence with a hand clasped to his chest. "These people who listen to gossip."

"Well, not you specifically," Marie muttered, then barrelled on with, "are you sure you're okay with me rejecting you in public?"

Remy took off his sunglasses with a flourish thus revealing his black and red eyes.

"Not like I haven't been rejected a lot before," he said wryly. "Besides, you and I would know what was really going on."

"Because of your eyes?" Marie asked softly.

"That tends to be the main reason. They do seem to freak people out."

Marie was silent for a moment, then finally said, "Not me."

Remy smiled. His smile broadened when Marie added that she thought they were beautiful and looked a little bashful at her admission. He liked that. His best relationships with girls tended to be with the ones who liked his eyes.

"Good to know," he said. "Anyway, all cards on the table, I'm kinda hoping here that you won't reject me and not just because of personal pride."

Marie smirked.

"I'd actually really like to string things along, see what we can get away with," Remy went on, his eyes glinting with mischief. "Creed's our teacher. He's supposed to be putting our welfare ahead of annoying his brother. He probably shouldn't have even asked this much. I'm really curious to see just how far he'd let things go before he put a stop to it. _If_ he puts a stop to it."

Marie raised her eyebrows.

"Just what exactly what you were thinking of trying?" she asked cautiously.

Remy shrugged and spread his hands.

"No specific plans right now. This is one of those things I'd play by ear," he said. "Start with small, harmless stuff like simple flirting. Then once they've been lured into a false sense of security we run late to class but arrive together and see if we get told off. See where it goes from there."

"Run late to class?" Marie asked.

"Yeah, I'm such a rebel," Remy replied.

Marie snickered, then nodded.

"I'll think about it," she said. "Goodness knows I like any chance to annoy my father too."

They parted ways soon after that. Marie got home, changed, took some time to relax, and then headed over to the girls lounge where she met up with Wanda and Callisto to study for an upcoming math test. Normally Marie did okay with math but she was finding it much harder this year. She told herself it was probably because they mixed up the classes, for all she knew she was doing year twelve math at the moment, not year eleven. Still, if it wasn't bad enough that she was feeling homesick, she was starting to feel inadequate as well. By all accounts this was a difficult school to get into and she hadn't even done the entrance exam. What if she wasn't smart enough to be here?

* * *

The time had finally come for Jamie and Bobby to extract their revenge for the heinous beef-smelling prank of three weeks prior. The two boys lingered in the locker room until all the others had left and then they raced around to where each of the seven Brotherhood boys had left their clothes, switching them around. It was one of the few times Jamie and Bobby were pleased that they had to wear a uniform. Because all their clothes looked the same it wouldn't be immediately apparent that something was wrong.

Logan berated them for taking so long when Jamie and Bobby finally emerged, Scott throwing them a suspicious look. Scott had hoped the pranking business was over but Jamie and Bobby were looking far too pleased with themselves.

The two coaches had their teams practising skills again. Victor decided today was the day for shooting and stopping goals, by that he meant Fred would practice stopping goals while everyone else would practice shooting them. Fred didn't mind being the designated goalie. On the contrary, he liked being the goalie, actually getting pretty good at it over the years.

Remy was sure to line up right behind Marie. Marie gave him a look that said she was not at all surprised to see him there. He smiled slyly at her.

"So, how has your day been?" he asked.

"Good," Marie replied politely while Wanda turned her head to watch, "and yours?"

"All the better for seeing you," Remy said, taking Marie's free hand to kiss it.

Wanda snickered.

"I bet you say that to all the girls," Marie replied with a smirk.

"I'll take that bet," said Wanda, grinning.

"Only when they really do brighten my day," Remy let go of her hand, "and if my day were any brighter right now we'd be walking on the sun."

"Try not to get burned then, sugar," Marie said as the line shuffled closer to the shooting circle.

Remy leaned in close as Wanda lined up her hockey stick with the ball. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Logan looking at them and feel Victor's eyes on the back of his neck.

"Maybe I think it'll be worth it," he said.

Marie caught her breath. It wasn't so much what he said as it was how he said it, how he looked at her. In that moment she could fully understand why so many girls fell for him. She didn't reply at first, her trance only broken when Fred gloated at stopping the ball again.

"Yeah, well," Marie turned her back on him as Wanda headed for the back of the line. "Maybe I think you're just talking out of your ass."

Remy chuckled and Marie attempted not to think about him as she aimed for the goal. He had made her feel a little flustered and she put a little bit more force into her swing than she intended. The ball skittered across the floor and only just made it past Fred's stick by an eighth of an inch.

"Aww, man," Fred complained.

Marie didn't look at Remy as she joined Wanda at the back of the line. Wanda grinned wickedly at her.

"I'd tease you about someone liking you but Remy likes all of us," Wanda said mischievously.

"I'd gotten that impression, yes," Marie replied.

Remy also succeeded in getting the ball past Fred's defences, then he also went to the back of the line. He continued to flirt with Marie but he kept it light, resisting the urge to touch her. He could tell he had unnerved her a little but was pleased she hadn't publicly rejected him... yet.

About halfway through the class Victor got bored with goal scoring and switched everyone over to another set of drills. Although it was tempting to pair himself up with Marie again, Remy opted to pair up with someone else. He had to think long term here and figured following her around all class would be coming on a bit too strong.

Jamie and Bobby were feeling fiendishly delightful as everyone headed back to the locker rooms after class. They attempted, unsuccessfully, to keep straight faces as they headed to their things. They started to change and strained their ears listening for the inevitable discovery.

Pietro lifted up his pants out of the pile only to discover they were at least four sizes too big for him. "What the...?"

"Umm," Lance said as he looked down at his pants, which he had pulled on, but wouldn't come up all the way and had no chance of zipping up. "What happened to my pants?"

Jamie and Bobby held in their laughter, almost bursting with the strain.

Fred held up his clothes with a frown. There was no way that could fit him. They were far too small.

"Okay," Jason announced from his cubicle. "These are not my clothes."

"You're right, they're not your clothes," Remy called back to him. "Know how I can tell? I have them. By the way, just so you know, had circumstances been different I'd be taunting you right now for having your mother embroider your name on your clothes."

There was some snickering at this. Remy emerged from his cubicle and headed over to Jason's with his bundle of clothes. He shoved them through the privacy curtain.

"Yeah," said Pietro, emerging from his own cubicle. "I think I have Fred's."

Jason took his clothes from Remy and passed the others back. Remy inspected them as Pietro headed over to Fred. Piotr emerged fully dressed from his cubicle and looked away as he headed out. He was followed by David who threw Remy a slight smirk as he passed.

"Okay, these aren't my clothes either," Remy said. "Not the right size."

He then asked who wore that size and Lance announced they sounded like his. Pietro switched clothes with Fred as Lance emerged from his cubicle to exchange clothes with Remy.

"These aren't mine either," Pietro said. "The uniform is the right size but not the shoes."

Remy held up his latest set of clothes as John exited his cubicle, fully dressed, but wearing pants that were a few inches too long for his legs. Scott and Kurt exited, Kurt grinning broadly at the joke, Scott with a trace of a smile on his face. Remy caught the look.

"You know anything about this, Summers?" Remy asked.

"I have better, more important, things to do than pull pranks," Scott replied before departing.

"Hey John," Pietro said, holding up the shoes. "These yours?"

"How would I know? They all look alike," John said as Warren left.

"Well, those aren't your pants," Remy said, taking the liberty of walking around John and pulling the waist band of the pants away from his body so he could inspect the label. John did not seem to like Remy up in his personal space but too bad, he'd like to get dressed sometime this decade. "Ah ha, these are mine."

"Here, try these," Pietro held out his bundle of clothes as John sighed dramatically and headed back into the cubicle to change again.

Bobby and Jamie, both with faces sore from stifled laughter and grinning too much, emerged from their cubicles and began to head slowly towards the door.

"I think these are Todd's," Remy said, going back to the bundle Lance had given him. "Hey Todd, do your clothes fit?"

Todd threw open the curtain of his cubicle and stepped out in clothes that were clearly too big from him. He posed like a runner.

"Look at me," he said. "I'm Pietro."

Remy snickered while Pietro gave Todd a dark look. Pietro snatched up the uniform from Remy's hands.

"Okay, you've had your fun," Pietro said, thrusting the clothes at Todd, "now give me back my clothes."

Bobby and Jamie giggled as they headed out the door.

At long last, the uniforms were returned to their rightful owners and the boys were able to get to their next class without being late.

* * *

It was inevitable in a school that size that all the students knew what had happened come lunch time.

"We should probably think of something good to get them back with," John said, smirking.

"Must you?" asked Jason, returning the looks John and Remy gave him. "At least do the rest of us a favour and don't make it another locker room prank."

"Yeah, locker room pranks will get old fast," Remy nodded, "and people will start expecting to be pranked in there. Besides, I think that Jamie and Bobby were behind this one. We should target them specifically."

"Oh goody, goody," John said, rubbing his hands together.

"You boys are pathetic," Callisto informed them.

"Nah, what's pathetic is that I already know how to get back at them," John said, grinning broadly. "They live in my dorm. I know where their rooms are, right across the hall from each other."

Remy grinned back at him, having a pretty good idea where this was going.

"Tomorrow morning?" Remy asked. "Or shall we wait a few weeks and lure them into a false sense of security?"

"I don't have a rope, so it'll have to wait," John said.

"We'll get one on the weekend," Remy replied.

"You guys really like to pull pranks, don'tcha?" Marie asked, looking at them with an amused expression on her face.

"Please," Wanda said, picking up her drink. "Pranking is the unofficial school sport."

Remy chuckled. Meanwhile, at a table on the other side of the cafeteria, Kurt sat down in front of Bobby and Jamie.

"Soooo," Kurt said. "Who do you supposed pulled the clothes switching prank?"

"No idea," Bobby replied, snickering.

"Me neither," Jamie added, smiling.

"Okay, but if you find out, tell them I said 'good one'," Kurt said, grinning at them, "and ask them if I can be in on it next time."

"Sure," Bobby said.


	8. Papercuts

**Chapter 8: ****Papercuts**

Weekends were full of activities for the boarders to enjoy, some being seasonal while others were year long. Students could go horse-riding, swimming, or playing different sports. The library was always open as was the music room. Many of the musically inclined like to hang out in the music room because it was the only place they could go where no one would complain about the "noise" they were making.

At first Todd was quite happy finding out that the two other guitarists at the school were both girls. Then he found out that his dream of bonding with them over music wasn't going to work out quite the way he thought. While his tastes ran the gamut of rap to hip hop, Alison Blaire loved pop and disco while Lila Cheney preferred progressive rock, heavy metal, punk rock, and folk music. Most of their meetings ended with Lila and Alison in huge arguments with each other on what qualified as good music. Todd felt it was smarter if he didn't say anything at all.

* * *

Remy sat down next to Rogue who was eating lunch in the cafeteria with Wanda. A big grin appeared on his face when he realised what she was wearing that day: black mini-skirt, black tank, black boots, black gloves, green stockings and a green see-through shirt—one of the ones he had recommended to her when they'd gone shopping.

"You look great, chère," he said as he sat down. "Did your dad react well?"

"I thought his eyes were gonna pop right out of his sockets," Rogue replied smugly.

Remy chuckled as Rogue finished eating the last of her lunch.

"Try to make you change?" he asked.

Rogue took a moment to finished chewing.

"Nope," she said. "He looked like he really wanted to say something, but he didn't."

"How restrained of him."

"Yeah."

"That's no fun."

"That's what I thought."

"When I want to annoy my father," Wanda said, "I just tell him that Vietnam wasn't a real war."

"Oooh," Remy said, pulling a face as John wandered over to them with his own lunch. "Good thing your dad isn't Creed. He'd rip you to shreds."

"Right, like my father is really dancing a jig when I say that," Wanda replied blandly.

"I think that would actually work pretty well on my father too," Marie said. "Hey John, do you do anything to annoy your dad?"

John shrugged as he picked up his burger.

"Actually, me and my foster father get on pretty well," John said and promptly filled his mouth with food so not to deal with any more discussion on the matter.

"Well, at least someone around here does," Remy replied languidly. "Let's just say my own father likes to keep me under his thumb and I get the most fun out of wriggling out of his grip. Hey, Pyro, you get the rope yet?"

John swallowed.

"Not yet. I'll get it later."

"Excellent."

* * *

On the following Monday, Marie stared down at the test paper in her hands with a nasty little 16.5% written in red pen in the top corner. Sure, mathematics had never been her best subject but she'd never completely failed it before.

Ororo called for everyone's attention and then proceeded to go through the answers with the class. Marie tried to give Ororo her complete attention but her poor performance had gotten her down and she was having a hard time focusing on it. Marie was greatly relieved when the bell rang for lunch. And then she was promptly filled with a feeling of dread when Ororo asked her to stay.

Marie joined Ororo at the front of the class and couldn't look her teacher in the eye as the last of her classmates left the room and closed the door behind them. They were quiet for a moment as Ororo attempted to catch the eyes of her student.

"I have a question for you and I'd appreciate it if you were honest with me," Ororo said finally. "I know you don't really want to be here, did you deliberately get questions wrong on the test?"

Marie blinked in surprise and jerked her head up. The thought hadn't even occurred to her.

"No!" she exclaimed defensively. "Why would anyone do that?"

"I know someone who tried doing exactly that because they did not want to be here and thought if they handed in poor results they would get kicked out and would get to go home," Ororo replied patiently. "It did not work. If nothing else, we do not give up on our students."

"Well, I didn't," Marie grumpily crossing her arms. "So I guess I'm just stupid."

"You are not stupid," Ororo said firmly, "and I do not want to hear you say that about yourself again."

Mare stared at Ororo in surprise, not just at what she said, but also at the firm tone with which she said it. She cleared her throat uncomfortably.

"You are quite capable of learning and understanding the material—" Ororo went on.

"Let me guess, I just need to apply myself?" Marie asked more rudely than she intended.

"I have never particularly liked that phrase," Ororo replied smoothly, not even batting an eye at the interruption. "Nor have I ever enjoyed failing students. I feel I have failed as a teacher when I do that. I want very much to teach you, to help you understand, and to see you succeed in this class, but it is a two-way street. You need to be open to learning and willing to try your best. So, I ask you, Marie, are you willing to let me help you?"

Marie was silent for a long moment while she processed this speech.

"I've never had this conversation in my life," Marie said finally.

"I am sorry to say that does not surprise me," Ororo said. "It is one of the things I love about working at this school. The small student to teacher ratio gives me greater opportunities to get to know you, my students, and to work with those of you who are struggling and give greater challenges to those who are not."

Marie nodded.

"Well," she said, feeling both awkward and relieved about the whole thing. "16.5% was pretty embarrassing."

"Why don't you meet me here after school?" Ororo suggested. "I would be more than happy to do some private classes with you until we can get that grade up to something more respectable."

"I'd like that."

* * *

That evening, Ororo and Marie looked up from their studies in Ororo's math room to see Logan standing at the door. He cleared his throat as he stepped inside.

"Good evening, Logan," Ororo said. "We were just finishing up."

"That's fine, take as long as you need," Logan replied. "I just didn't know where Marie was."

Ororo flickered a glance at Marie, but looked back at Logan and said, "I apologise, I should have thought to mention to you that I would be meeting with Marie after school."

Marie started to grab her things and Logan waved a hand in dismissal.

"It's fine, really," Logan said. "I was just used to seeing Marie at dinner, and when she wasn't—"

"Oh my," Ororo said, glancing at the clock. "I did not realise it was so late. No wonder I was getting hungry."

Logan chuckled and Marie stood.

"Thanks for the help, Ms Monroe," she said.

"You are quite welcome," Ororo replied.

"Hey, Marie," Logan said as his daughter headed towards the door, "since you missed dinner we can—"

Logan was cut off by Marie closing the door soundly behind her as she left. He gritted his teeth and Ororo put a calming hand on his shoulder.

"I am certain she will come around eventually, Logan," Ororo said sympathetically.

"Yeah? Before or after she graduates?" Logan asked cynically, then sighed. "I knew I should have been around more when she was younger."

"Well, I am sure that did not help but you cannot take all the blame yourself," Ororo said. "Her mother left her, something that was probably inconceivable in her eyes. She cannot rant and rave at her mother, so she takes it out on you, because you are a convenient target."

Logan grunted.

"And I know you brought her here because you wanted to mend bridges and spend more time with her," Ororo continued gently, "but in doing so you landed another big change in her lap."

"I know," Logan said, slumping down on the edge of the desk.

There was silence for a moment. Ororo sat down on the desk next to Logan.

"I notice she has had a change of wardrobe lately," Ororo said.

Logan blanched.

"I made a mistake," he said. "She reminds me too much like her mother sometimes, especially in the tight, skimpy clothes she was wearing... I told her I wanted her to cover up and not be an unfaithful slut like her mother."

"Ahh," Ororo said, nodding slowly.

"Yeah. I figure I'll just let it slide for now. We're headed into colder months and gloves ain't all that unreasonable," Logan said. "When we get back into warmer weather then I think I'll have a case—if she hasn't given up on her own by then."

"Perhaps," Ororo said non-commitally, hesitated, and then said, "It may not be my place to comment but I do not think that insulting her mother was the best course of action."

Logan growled. "Tell me about it. Raven _left_ her, and yet she can still do no wrong."

Ororo was silent for a moment.

"Maybe. But you left her too."

Logan grunted. He pushed himself up off the desk and started to leave when a thought occurred to him. He turned and looked back at Ororo.

"Remy LeBeau," Logan said. "Creed said something to me about him being sexually active?"

A faint smile appeared on Ororo's lips. "Has his eye on Marie, does he?"

"I feel like every time I turn around these days I see him flirting with her," Logan replied, sounding just as unimpressed as he felt.

"It is true and quite publicly known around here that Remy has had sex," Ororo said. "He was caught with a girl in the janitor's closet his freshman year in a very compromising position. Then there was a very loud, public falling out with another girl last year during lunch. Before this conversation goes any further, I should tell you that I am Remy's guidance counsellor and—"

"You are?" Logan asked in surprise. "But I thought Chuck—"

"Occasionally he asks another of the staff to take on that role with a particular student," Ororo explained as she got off the desk. "I take care of Remy because he and I have... some similarities in our childhood experiences which make it easier for me to relate to him than the Professor can. Things I will not divulge to you at this time—if at all. It is enough to know that... Remy was forced to grow up a lot faster than he should have."

"That doesn't exactly make me feel any better," Logan replied, frowning. "If anything that makes it worse."

"I know what I am saying is not to your preference," Ororo replied patiently. "I am sorry but I cannot tell you that your brother is lying to you to get under your skin. Remy is sexually active. He is also sexually _responsible_, which is more than I can say about some of the other young men and women who have been involved in incidences here. Fortunately, they had been few and far between. Remy is one of the more promiscuous students we've had."

"That you know about."

"That we know about."

Logan made a low growling noise which caught Ororo by surprise, not expecting such a sound from the short, hairy man. He sighed.

"Yeah, okay," Logan said finally. "Still don't like it. Haven't had any succeed trying to talk to Marie about this... stuff. I was hoping..."

Logan shrugged with a huff.

"Thanks anyway, Ororo," he said.

He started to head to the door again but this time Ororo stopped him.

"Would you like me to talk to Marie in your stead?" she asked. "She may be more willing to discuss boys with another woman, rather than her father, even if you two were on good terms."

Logan hesitated, then turned back and gave her a nod.

"I might take you up on that," he said. "Let me think about it for now."

* * *

It was a week before John implemented his prank on Bobby and Jamie, partly because he wanted to lure them into a face sense of security and also because he was waiting for the optimal time. He chose to do it on a weekend simply because it was less likely to get anyone in detention.

John kept an eye on the hallway and on Sunday morning he lucked out when most of the other residents in the dorm had left but Bobby and Jamie was still in their rooms. He tied one end of the short rope he'd bought around Bobby's door handle and the other end around Jamie's, leaving about four inches of slack. It was only because their doors were directly across from each other that it would work.

Once John was satisfied the rope was secure, he knocked on each of their doors quite loudly, then ran lightly down the hall to watch. He didn't have to wait long. Bobby's door opened first and although he pulled and pulled, he couldn't get very far.

"Hey, what the?" Bobby exclaimed.

Moments later, Jamie tried to open his door and as he pulled, Bobby's door closed. Bobby yanked on his door and soon a tug of war began.

"Hey!"

"Stop that!"

"Why won't you open!"

"What's going on?"

John laughed quietly and then left when it stopped being funny, which was about the time Bobby and Jamie started communicating instead of pulling and yanking on their doors.

* * *

Marie swallowed hard as her eyes ran over the words which had just appeared on her Facebook news feed. Social media had done a pretty good job of keeping her in touch with her friends from Mississippi. Perhaps a little too good:

_Cody Robbins is in a relationship with Georgia Davis._

The only thing keeping Marie from tracking Georgia down and strangling her was the sheer distance between them. She'd always suspected that stuck-up, annoying little cheerleader had her eyes on Cody and this just proved it.

"Bitch!"

She grabbed the nearest object—a book—and threw it at the wall with a loud thump. She threw a few more things around as her chair clattered to the floor and then slumped down on the edge of her bed and buried her face in her hands. She was just getting started on her cry when the door opened.

"Anna?" Logan asked, peering inside and focusing on his clearly miserable daughter. "Is everything all right in here?"

Marie slowly raised her head and her eyes grew hard as her gaze fell on her father. She sniffed noisily.

"This is all your fault," she snarled as she stood and pushed by him. "I hate you."

"Anna," Logan called after her as she stormed away. "Anna!"

He started to follow her. She started running and was out the front door before he could catch up with her. He growled with irritation but decided to leave it alone. She'd have to come back eventually and hopefully by then she'd have calmed down. Logan headed back inside and after a moment's hesitation he headed back to Marie's room to see if he could find a clue. He didn't really like the idea of going through her things, but he was worried about her, and if she wasn't going to talk to him...

The computer wasn't the first thing that Logan checked but he realised after he did look at it that it probably should have been. The alteration in Cody's relationship status was still fresh and Logan recognised his name straight away. It didn't take Logan long to put the pieces together: her now-ex-boyfriend was dating someone else and she wouldn't have broken up with Cody in the first place if she hadn't been moving.

He had no idea how to handle this stuff.


	9. Simple Livin'

**Chapter 9: Simple Livin' **

"Hockey one," Remy and Scott said together as their hockey sticks clapped each other on the number. "Hockey two. Hockey three!"

Remy's stick hit the ball first, rolling it swiftly to his nearest teammate. The five Brotherhood banded together and got past the X-Men's defences for a quick first goal of the game. Victor smirked at Logan and chuckled wickedly. Logan ignored him. This was no time for gloating, the game had only begun.

The X-Men were better prepared for the next time but not quite prepared enough to stop Rogue from scoring the Brotherhood's second goal. The third time they finally got control of the ball long enough for Warren to shoot for the goal, only for the ball to be stopped by a very smug Fred.

Throughout the class Logan and Victor switched their teams around so that everyone had a turn to play. During one of their off-side moments, Remy sat down next to Marie. Marie had pretty much expected him to as he had practically become her shadow in gym class. She wouldn't say so out loud but she did enjoy his attention.

"We seem to be doing pretty well," Marie said.

"Yeah, hockey's one of those games where we usually trash the X-Men," Remy replied from where he sat barely an inch away from her.

"Oh, cool."

Logan tried to stay focused on the game but as usual his eyes often drifted over to his beloved baby girl. That Remy, with his undesirable reputation (or not-so-undesirable, which was the problem) was sitting far too close to her. Logan thought he felt a hand grip his heart when he saw Remy take her hand in his and then breathed a sigh of relief without realising it when Marie removed her hand. He mentally told himself not to panic, just because Raven and Remy slept around didn't mean Marie would...right? Momentarily satisfied, Logan turned his attention back to the game.

* * *

Marie chewed her bottom lip while she watched Ororo mark her makeup test. It had taken a couple of weeks of after school study but she finally reached a point where they both agreed that she was ready to do the test again—or a variation of it anyway. She finished the test a few minutes ago and Ororo had finally made it to the second page with her red pen.

Her heart pounded as she watched Ororo flip the pages back to the first and then write her grade up in the corner. Marie caught her breath as Ororo turned the test paper around so that she could see.

"92%?" Marie exclaimed, hardly believing her eyes. "What? I? How?"

Ororo chuckled softly.

"Congratulations, Marie. A much better result," she said approvingly as she capped her pen.

"Yes, it is, but... I've _never _scored that high before. Not on a math test anyway. Not in years," Marie said, unable to get over her amazement.

"I will take that as a compliment then," Ororo replied. "I knew you were capable. Now, next time you are struggling, let me know, preferably long before we get to the exam stage."

"Yes, of course. Absolutely," Marie knew she had a great big grin on her face. "Thank you so much."

"You are quite welcome," Ororo was rather pleased with Marie's reaction. It was for moments like this that she loved being a teacher.

"I can't wait to show..." Marie began and then trailed off when she remembered she couldn't show her mother or tell Irene about it.

"Your dad?" Ororo suggested, noting the way that Marie's face went from joyful to ashen and suspected that wasn't the answer to the question.

"He won't care," Marie said bitterly, "and apparently Mama doesn't either."

"Well, I cannot speak for your mother but I think that your father cares more than you believe," Ororo replied gently.

"No offence Ms Monroe, I know you mean well," Marie said, "but you kind of have to say that. You work with him."

"Which is exactly how I know he does care," Ororo said firmly. "He talks about you all the time."

"Probably to complain," Marie said, glaring at the table.

"He does complain, this is true," Ororo said, looking steadily at Marie. "He complains that you two are not as close as you used to be and that you do not want to talk to him anymore."

"Well, that's his own damn fault," Marie replied stubbornly. "He was in the military when I was younger, fine, I can deal with the fact that he wasn't around much then. But after he left? He didn't have to go around taking jobs as far away from Mississippi as he could get. He could have found a job close to home but he chose not to."

Ororo nodded slowly.

"Perhaps that is something you should talk to him about," she suggested.

Marie bit her tongue, not wanting to be rude to her teacher, especially one that had just gone to a lot of trouble to make sure she didn't fail math.

"Either way," Ororo went on, "I would like to extend my offer to ask me more than just questions about school work. I know from my own experience how hard it can be to have no one you feel you can talk to about... things that require a more mature mind. I lost my own parents when I was quite young, much younger than you, and I never had anyone else to turn to once they were gone."

Marie didn't reply right away and Ororo stood.

"If you are not comfortable talking to me, that is quite all right," she said gently. "I simply wanted to extend the offer. It is for you to decide whether you are comfortable taking me up on it."

Finally Marie nodded.

"Thanks, Ms Monroe," Marie said, standing and finally meeting her eyes again. "I do appreciate it. I don't know if I'll ever take you up on it but I appreciate it all the same."

* * *

Remy wandered into the library on Thursday afternoon after school. He had gone back to his dorm room and changed into more comfortable clothing. He knew that the debate club met on Thursdays and Marie was part of the team. At a few minutes before the meeting was due to finish he picked out a couple of random books and made himself at home at a desk near the club door. While he waited he flipped through the books he'd taken... apparently he had taken up a new interest in Beat Poetry, who knew?

Eventually the club door opened and the members began to emerge, chatting away as they did. Remy lifted his head and caught Marie's eyes as she stepped out with Wanda. She was surprised to see him and bit her bottom lip when he gestured for her to come over. Marie glanced at Wanda who grinned wickedly back at her.

"See ya tomorrow," Wanda said.

"See ya," Marie replied, walking around the table as the rest of the group left.

"How'd it go?" Remy asked as he stood and gathered his books, though he was much more focused on Marie than this things.

"Fine," she said. "We have a debate coming up on 'should income tax be abolished'."

"Sounds interesting," Remy said. "Affirmative or negative?"

"Affirmative," Marie replied with a sigh, "Wanda has the negative and turns out she is really good at this debate stuff."

Remy laughed as he kicked his chair back under the desk. "Yep, she's lead us to State every year."

"Yeah," Marie regarded Remy for a moment as he stood there ready to go, "Did you want something?"

"Just a chance to talk to you without a bunch of people hanging around," Remy replied simply.

"Miss Moonstar's still here," Marie pointed out, gesturing with her head towards the librarian who was watching them closely.

"She's one person, not a bunch," Remy replied. "May I walk you home?"

Marie raised an eyebrow but smiled.

"My, aren't you the gentleman?" she said. "Sure."

He grinned at her and lifted up his books. "I should check these out. So, I was wondering, would you like to go see a movie with me this weekend?"

Marie shrugged as they walked to the front desk.

"As friends?" she asked.

"As whatever you want," Remy replied. "I'm easy."

"Yeah, I'd gotten that impression."

Remy chuckled in spite of himself. Danielle Moonstar checked out the books while Marie accepted the invitation and they discussed the movie choices.

"So," Remy said once they'd left the library for the well-lit outside, "how's things with you and the ex? If you don't mind my asking..."

Marie was silent for a moment. Cody hadn't been at all far from her thoughts lately.

"He's seeing someone else," Marie said finally, looking down at the pavement as they walked. "A cheerleader. I've suspected for some time that little tramp had her eye on him and, of course, the moment I'm gone..."

"Ahh."

"They've been harassing him about dating me," Marie went on, bitterness and anger permeating her voice, "ever since he joined the damn football team, like all of a sudden I wasn't good enough for him anymore. He didn't listen to them, not at first, but they were getting to him, I could tell."

Remy opened his mouth to reply in a sympathetic manner but was interrupted by Marie's verbal dam bursting. All the things she had been thinking and feeling and unable to say before were finally released:

"And there wasn't a darn thing I could do about it except tell myself things like 'don't worry, true love will prevail' and all this other tripe that I didn't really believe, I just wanted to. Cody and I have known each other forever. We've known each other so long, I don't even remember when we met. Our parents were friends, that's all I know. We've been so close I thought for sure we were going to get married one day. Hell, I even started making plans, of all things, not that I told him about it. But that's not going to happen now. There's no chance of us getting back together, especially not now that she has her claws in him. We'll finish high school and then end up in different colleges and not see each other again for years. It's over. It's over and there's nothing I can do about it."

Marie's rant got them to the turn off to the teacher's quarters and a short silence followed before Remy replied, "You're probably right."

"Thank you for your words of comfort," Marie retorted sarcastically and started storming off.

"Aww, chère, don't be like that," Remy said, trotting to catch up with her. "I'm not trying to be mean."

"Could've fooled me!" Marie snapped.

"It's just a fact," Remy grabbed her free hand with his own. "People grow up and grow apart. I know for my own part that since being at boarding school I'm not quite as close to my friends and family back home as I was. The off-set to that is that I've made friends here. Sure, I probably won't see most of them again after I graduate, but that's not the point."

"And just what is the point?" Marie asked in a voice of steel as she stood and glared at him.

"The point is that the important people stay in your life," Remy said firmly, looking her right in the eyes. "If you and Cody are really that close he's not going to lightly leave your life. Maybe you will get married, maybe you won't, but I doubt things are really over just because you moved interstate and he hooked up with a cheerleader."

Marie stared at him for a long moment.

"That was... surprisingly mature and insightful," she said slowly.

Remy grinned at her. "I've been known to shock people on occasion. Sometimes literally."

Marie smiled and they started walking again.

"Besides, I think I've got some firsthand experience with what you're dealing with," Remy went on, feeling a little nervous about sharing what he was about to say. "I got adopted when I was ten. I was pulled out of a bad situation, I guess. I didn't think it was all that bad at the time, it was just life. I don't really talk to any of the people I knew back then any more. I could look 'em up if I wanted to but..." he shrugged. "There's just one person I still talk to from that time. Actually, she and I grew closer after I was adopted, although it was harder to hook up. All of a sudden I had parental supervision to deal with, wasn't that a shock to the system?"

He chuckled and Marie wondered what exactly this 'bad situation' was.

"We've been growing apart a little since I've been here but we're still close and I think we always will be," Remy said as they approached the door to Marie and Logan's house. "Ain't no reason for you to be threatened by this cheerleader. If you and Cody are really that close then you've got something with Cody that she's never going to have, regardless of whether you get married or not."

"I never thought about it like that," Marie said, frowning slightly as she considered his words.

Remy shrugged and cleared his throat.

"Yeah, well, I think I've met my 'deep and meaningful' quota for the year," he said, grinning at her. "I'm going to have to do something completely juvenile and immature to make up for it. Maybe I'll throw popcorn at you during the movie."

Marie giggled as Remy lifted her hand—which he was still holding—and kissed the back of it gently.

"What? Pulling pranks isn't immature enough?" she asked.

"Definitely not," he replied. "Good night, ma chère. I'll see you at rollcall."

"Good night," she said, started to open the door, and then looked back at him. "Remy?"

"Oui?" Remy asked already backing down the path towards the dorms.

"How come you checked out books on Beat Poetry?"

* * *

Marie walked into rollcall the next day looking as happy as she felt. She sat down in the spare seat next to Remy with a pleased smile on her face. He smiled back at her. John, on his other side, rolled his eyes.

"I spoke to Cody last night," Marie said. "It's been the first decent chat we've had since I moved. And you were completely right, I really don't think Georgia is gonna change things between us."

"Georgia?"

"Oh, the cheerleader."

"Ahh," Remy replied with a nod. "Well, I'm happy for you, chère."

"Thanks," Marie said, her tone turning absolutely gleeful. "In fact, going on some of the things Cody said, I think Georgia knows very well I'm always going to be part of Cody's life and is very much threatened by it."

Remy chuckled. "There you go. Things weren't nearly as bad as you thought. Unless you're still caught up on the whole marriage thing?"

Marie shrugged. "Not really and I'm even surprising myself by saying that. I guess I had a lot of time to consider the possibility that it might not happen while I was still in Mississippi, and as I said, we had a really good, long chat last night. I think it might be easier to adapt to being just friends than I thought."

"A good long chat huh?"

"Yeah," Marie said smugly. "Father-dearest is just going to loooove the phone bill."

Remy laughed.

* * *

The X-Men and the Brotherhood played another game of hockey against each other in Friday's gym class. As before, Logan and Victor rotated their players, although Logan noticed Fred spent a lot more time in the game than on the sidelines. This frustrated Logan because he knew Victor was only keeping Fred there for his goalkeeping skills, making it very difficult for his X-Men to score anything. On the other hand, Logan had been previously irritated with Victor for keeping Fred on the sidelines for the bulk of their 'football season'. He supposed from Fred's point of view it evened out.

Despite his annoyance at the X-Men's lack of goal scoring, Logan was secretly pleased with how well Marie was performing. Marie, Remy, and Callisto were the high scorers on the Brotherhood team, although Wanda occasionally got in a lucky shot from an unlikely position. There were a few times he wanted to congratulate Marie on how she was doing, but he couldn't, mostly because he was not her coach. He couldn't interfere with the Brotherhood. Logan very much hated that Marie chose Victor's team over his.

Remy sat on the sidelines with Marie and held her hand. He was feeling very pleased with how things were working out. It had been a gamble telling her about Bella Donna, which was something he wasn't all that comfortable discussing with any of his boarding school friends, but it seemed to have paid off. She wasn't quite as hung up over that ex-boyfriend of hers and, between that and the fact that she hadn't actually rejected him, he was pretty hopeful about making his move at the cinema tomorrow.

Except that he was seriously toying with the idea of making his move now.

He couldn't help it. He found her very attractive, and not just physically either. His brain was telling him he should wait until tomorrow, when they were afforded the privacy of the theatre, but the rest of him was saying to do it now. The risk of public rejection just made the whole situation all the sweeter.

Marie was well aware that Remy's eyes were on her and she wasn't entirely certain what she thought of it. She turned her head slightly to look at him in return and realised that his eyes were quite focused on her lips. She swallowed and licked her bottom lip subconsciously. His eyes seemed to glow with desire and they slowly, without really noticing what they were doing, leaned in towards each other. Their lips met.

"Get the hell away from my daughter!"

Marie and Remy jolted back, startled by Logan's furious outburst. The gym silenced and the game froze, except for the ball which rolled past Jason and bounced off the back wall. Everyone looked at Marie and Remy, or at Logan himself, who looked like a mad bull preparing to charge and gore Remy. Before anything else could be said, Victor stood in between them, facing off Logan.

"Mind your own business, runt," Victor said, his voice sounding both territorial and smug. "Those are my students."

"That's my daughter," Logan insisted his eyes locking with Victor's.

"Not here, she's not," Victor replied. "Here, I'm her coach and she's one of my players. Here, she's just another rival player to you and you have no authority over her or LeBeau. Back off."

"Fine," Logan said tersely. "You put a stop to their kissing then. Even you have to admit that's not appropriate behaviour."

"Kissing?" Victor said. "What kissing? I didn't see any kissing."

Logan growled.

"I only have your word for it," Victor added, not even bothering to hide his smirk.

The two coaches stared each other down. Victor at six and a half feet tall towered over Logan by at least a foot. Victor's long blond hair almost looked like a lion's mane, and Logan's shorter, hairier but muscular build made him look like a wolverine facing off against a big cat. No one dare to speak, or move, or even breathe too loudly lest they attract the attention of the two predators.

The face off was finally broken by the sound of the school bell ringing, signalling the end of class. Only then did Logan and Victor look away from each other to bark a brief command to their respective students to put the equipment away and hit the showers. It was probably the quietest pack up all year as none of the students dared to say a word or even put down their hockey sticks too loudly.

Victor caught Remy's eye as he headed to the showers and gave his student a discreet thumbs up. Remy gave Victor a two-fingered salute in return but inwardly he felt sick. He was so caught up in the moment he had completely forgotten about Victor and Logan's rivalry. He hoped that Marie wouldn't get the wrong impression.


	10. Make Out Club

**Chapter 10: Make Out Club**

"Oh for goodness sake it was just a kiss!" Marie exclaimed, glaring at Logan with her hands on her hips in the middle of the kitchen floor. "It's not like I spread my legs for him. Geez."

Logan grimaced at her choice of words.

"And are you planning on spreading your legs for him?" he demanded.

"Oh yes, _dad_, absolutely. I'm totally going to sleep with a guy I've only known for a couple of months," Marie replied sarcastically.

Logan pursed his lips and fought back a comment about how her mother would put out for less. It was Friday night and he had been stewing about the kiss Marie and Remy shared in gym class ever since. This was the first time he'd had to talk to her about it all day and it was going about as well as he expected. It almost made him want to give up trying to talk to Marie at all.

"Nice to know you've got some standards," he said tersely.

"I've got damn good standards, thank you very much," Marie snapped at him, poking her gloved finger into his chest. "I'm just so happy you think so highly of me. Oh, wait, I don't actually care what you think since you're not really interested in the first place."

"That's not true, Anna—"

"Marie!" she said, cutting him off and glaring at him. "Actually, on second thoughts, I've just realised what this is really about! You just don't want me getting pregnant so you get stuck looking after me and my baby—"

Logan blinked. In all honesty, for all his worries about her having sex, the thought of Marie getting pregnant hadn't actually crossed his mind.

"I..." he started to say but was cut off again.

"Well, you don't have to worry about that. As soon as I'm eighteen, I'm leaving you in the dust."

And as if giving him a preview of just that, Marie turned and stormed up to her room leaving Logan in stunned silence behind her.

* * *

"I can't wait until you have a car," Warren said the next day as Remy and Marie join him and Candy. "Then it'll be your turn to shuttle people around."

Remy chuckled as he got into the backseat. The four had just signed the book in the reception, indicating that they were going off-campus. In Warren's case, since he was a day student, his entry was more an indication that they were going in his car and as such he was responsible for bringing them back.

"By the time I get the appropriate license and a vehicle you will have graduated and not be able to appreciate it," Remy replied, smirking.

"But I will know, and on weekends when I remember school I will think to myself 'Remy's probably carting around people who can't drive' and I will laugh," Warren said as he drove down the driveway towards the main gates.

"I'm getting a motorcycle."

"Rats."

"Really?" Marie asked, her eyes bright with interest and excitement. "Cool."

"You like bikes, chère?" Remy asked, looking at her seated next to him with a smile on his face.

"Yep."

"Great. Wanna go doubling with me?" he asked. It felt like every time he turned around he got a new reason to like Marie.

"Sure," Marie replied eagerly.

"Ha!" Warren gloated from the driver's seat as they continued on their way downtown. "You will have to sign someone out after all. I win!"

"That's assuming Coach Howlett lets her," Candy said mischievously. "I heard about what happened in gym yesterday."

"That was intense," Warren said, shaking his head slightly. "I thought they were going to rip into each other then and there."

"You know, normally when a girl has a couple of men fighting over her, she generally prefers them not being her relatives," Marie said dryly.

Candy laughed.

* * *

Sometime later, Marie and Remy settled into their seats at the cinema after buying their tickets and loading up on popcorn and drinks. As soon as their foodstuffs were secure, Remy wrapped his arm over her shoulders. Marie turned her head to regard him.

"What, no 'yawn and stretch'?" she asked.

"I figured I'd get straight to the point," he replied, smirking back at her.

"Really? But you beat around the bush for so many other things," Marie said wryly. "This is a date, isn't it?"

Remy shrugged with his other shoulder. "Well, we did kiss yesterday..."

"This was a date when you first asked me," Marie said, looking at him steadily.

"If you say so," he leaned in closer to her. "I'm just happy you agreed to come with me today."

Marie found herself looking down at his lips. She wasn't sure what possessed her to kiss him yesterday but she was feeling very amicable towards kissing him again. The part of her that always thought of Cody felt a little guilty about finding Remy so alluring but the part of her that was attracted to Remy (and growing all the time) informed her that she was being stupid. Cody was dating someone else, they were over, back to being just friends, so what did it matter if she liked someone else?

Slowly Marie raised her eyes back up to meet Remy's.

"Well, I just hope it turns out to be a good movie," she said, hoping she didn't sound as nervous as she felt.

"I'm sure it won't be nearly as good as the company," he replied.

"Charmer."

He smiled at that, then leaned in and kissed her lips gently for a short, tender kiss.

"You know what's nice?" Marie said after they pulled away. "Not hearing father bitch."

Remy chuckled lightly.

"The way he carried on when we got home yesterday, anyone would think we were sleeping together," Marie said grumpily. "I'm surprised he didn't start telling me not to be a slut like my mother again. Whatever that's supposed to mean, Mama is not a slut. He's clearly biased because they're divorced."

"Clearly," Remy replied, deciding it was best to agree.

Marie sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Sorry. I'm just irritated with him right now."

"Believe me, I understand," Remy replied, taking his arm back as the lights started to dim. "Every time I go back home I end up arguing with mon pere about something. I'm looking forward to the Christmas break, but at the same time, looking forward to the next semester."

Conversation waned as the previews began.

* * *

After the movie was over Remy and Marie still had plenty of time to kill before Warren would return to pick them up. They bummed around looking at shops for awhile and then Remy pulled Marie aside to a quiet spot to chat.

"Look, umm," he said, feeling awkward. This was the part he hated but he couldn't avoid it. "Before things go any further between us, you should know that I'm not actually looking for a girlfriend right now."

"Hmm, I wondered when that would come up," Marie replied, leaning towards him on the table in the corner of the eatery. "Wanda said something about you having a no-girlfriend policy."

"I just don't want anything serious. I just want to have fun, you know?" Remy said, hesitated, and then added something he didn't normally say, "Plus, believe it or not, mon pere doesn't actually like me dating either."

Marie raised her eyebrows. "Oh?"

"In fact, me dating is one of the big things we fight about," Remy said ruefully. "I figure if I only date casually, then I can honestly tell him I don't have a girlfriend."

"Hmm."

Remy regarded her in the silence that followed, hesitated again, then said, "Look, if this is a problem for you—"

"I think it would be really weird referring to anyone other than Cody as my boyfriend right now anyway," Marie said, cutting him off. "Casual it is, but if you start seeing someone else, tell me."

"As long as you do the same, deal," Remy replied with a relieved smile.

* * *

Logan was waiting for them when Warren dropped Marie, Remy, and Candy back at school. His arms were folded across his chest and his face was full of suppressed anger. They all noticed him immediately. Warren would have liked to have driven off immediately but instead hurried into the office so he could sign off that he brought everyone back. Candy, Remy, and Marie followed him to also sign in their return. Warren left as soon as he could and Candy also made herself scarce. Remy wasn't the slightest bit concerned. As soon as he signed himself back in he swaggered over to Logan who had followed them, glaring the whole time.

"Bonjour Coach Howlett," Remy said. "I hope you've had a pleasant day."

Logan just looked at him. Remy looked back. Marie watched as the silence was drawn out.

"Come to tell me to stay away from your daughter?" Remy asked slyly.

Logan couldn't deny to himself that it was tempting. Under normal circumstances he would have done exactly that. The problem he found himself with was the knowledge that it would be impossible for Marie and Remy to stay away from each other. That, and the fact he knew the moment he forbade Marie something she would go ahead and do it just to defy him.

Logan decided to go for the 'intimidating Remy' option and just continued staring at the boy without saying a word. Remy stared back but was disconcerted by the lack of response. Finally he cleared his throat uncomfortably and looked at Marie.

"I'll see you tomorrow, chère," he said.

"See ya," Marie replied.

Remy sauntered out of reception as if he didn't have a care in the world leaving Logan to turn his glare at Marie. Marie matched his gaze.

"You got something you wanna say to me?" she challenged him.

He didn't reply to her either and she eventually turned and left in silence.

* * *

On Monday, the gym class was informed that they would be doing gymnastics for the remainder of the semester and a little into the next one after the winter break. Equipment was spread out throughout the gym and the plan was for Victor and Logan to rotate their teams. One team would use half of the equipment one class and the other half the next class. There were a couple of mini trampolines, a vaulting horse, balance beams, and lots of blue mats.

Both teams started off with some warm ups on the largest pool of blue mats, which were then followed by practising and learning how to do some floor activities like rolls, cartwheels, headstands, and the like. Then they split off. The X-Men got the balance beams and the Brotherhood got one of the mini trampolines and a big thick blue mat. The vault was put off to the side to begin with.

Jubilee was especially excited about all of this, since she actually did gymnastics, and she couldn't resist the urge to show off a little. While everyone else climbed on willy-nilly, Jubilee decided that the best way to mount was stand beside it, jump in the air, and land on the beam while doing the splits. She heard someone say "cool" behind her, much to her pleasure. Before Logan could reprimand her for doing something stupid, she stood up in a way only a gymnast would.

"You've done this before," Logan said gruffly.

"Since I was five," Jubilee replied smugly, a big cheesy grin on her face.

Logan grunted. "Alright kid. Let's see whatcha got."

Jubilee then proceeded to do one of her old remembered routines much to the delight of all the students, including the Brotherhood, who were subsequently berated for not paying attention. Logan was careful to tell those who followed Jubilee "not to try any fancy stuff unless you've had proper lessons too."

"That would be me," Kurt said, sounding well-pleased.

He was better on the rings or the bars than he was the beam, so he didn't try to show off too much. He did, however, entertain himself (and those watching) by dismounting with a double back flip.

Victor was most put out about all of this and shot a look at Remy. Remy got the message but rolled his eyes as soon as Victor's back was turned. He ran up, jumped on the trampoline, then did a double somersault with a twist in the middle, landing perfectly and facing back in the direction he came. He blew a kiss to Marie who was next in line. Marie smirked back at him.

Marie's turn wasn't nearly so spectacular—nor was anyone else's. Still, she landed on her feet, which was more than could be said for some of the others.

All throughout class, Remy stayed near Marie. He was tempted to kiss her again, just for the reaction, but decided it was better not to push it for once. In any case, if Victor was employing a "if I don't see it, it didn't happen" mentality, then now wasn't the time.

* * *

Bobby and Jamie had not forgotten about being trapped in their bedrooms. Whilst technically any of the male boarders could have done it, Bobby and Jamie had their sights set of those who lived in the same building as they, and one in particular: John. It had taken them some time but they finally came up with the perfect prank to use against him.

Well, perhaps not 'perfect'. To Jamie's mind the perfect prank to pull on John "Pyro" Allerdyce would involve fire but they were pretty sure they'd get more than just detention if they lit one at school. Still, it was close enough, and he and Bobby pulled in Kurt and Piotr as well

It required some considered timing but they decided on the final day of school for the semester, right after the finish of gym class. Since the prank required them to be in the locker room well before John, Jamie asked Piotr to keep John busy after class so that he was the last person to enter the locker room. Piotr agreed. In preparation, at the beginning of class, Jamie, Bobby, and Kurt each filled up a bucket of water and left it with their things.

So after another class wherein those with gymnastic and acrobatic prowess showed off (with encouragement from their Coaches, which was not at all because said Coaches wanted to demonstrate that their team was the far superior one), the students headed back to the locker rooms to change out of their sports uniform for the last time that semester. Though his heart was doing its own gymnastics in his chest, Piotr worked up the nerve to walk up to John to delay him.

"So, John," Piotr said, walking close beside him, "are you going back to Australia over the Christmas break?"

"Nah, mate," John replied with a shrug. "We've already got plans and they involve chimichangas and a _Golden Girls_ marathon."

"_Golden Girls_?" Piotr repeated, looking confused.

"Yeah, it's an old show from like, the eighties or something," John said.

"_Golden Girls_, hein?" Remy asked musingly as they walked towards the locker room.

"Do not start on me, Remy," John said, throwing him a dark look. "Betty White is awesome."

"I didn't say a word," Remy replied innocently.

"I will be going back to Russia," Piotr said, slowing sightly after deciding that he wasn't doing enough to delay John.

"Good for you."

"I am looking forward to seeing my family again."

"I'm sure you are."

As they approached the locker room, Piotr quickly sped up again. He trotted quickly by Jamie, Bobby, and Kurt who were holding their buckets and indicated that John was right behind him. John stepped through the door way and...

"Fire!" Jamie, Bobby, and Kurt yelled, and promptly drenched him in water.

John stopped in his tracks, his mouth hanging open as he blinked the water from his eyes. He lifted his arms and water dripped off his sleeves and skin. The three boys giggled and scampered off quickly. There was some laughter from those who had hung around to find out what in the world Jamie, Bobby, and Kurt had been up to with the buckets. John gave his arms a shake.

"Good one," he said.

"It gets an A for playing on your nickname but a D for finesse," Remy said as he backed into his cubicle, "and an F for subtlety."

"Hey! This was a great prank!" Bobby objected.

John scoffed as he walked into his cubicle.

"Great prank? That?" Remy asked scornfully. 'You don't know the meaning of the word, pup."

"Don't worry," John said maliciously as he shut the curtain behind him. "We'll learn ya."


	11. Live Forever (Fly With Me)

**Chapter 11: Live Forever (Fly with me) **

The Christmas break was the prefect time, in Logan's opinion, for him to spend some long overdue quality time with Marie. All her friends had gone home for the holidays (or were still in Mississippi). Even Wanda and Pietro weren't there, having left with their father to spend time with family elsewhere.

The question was, what to do? Logan thought about playing sports but decided that might be too much like school. He considered taking her for some driving lessons but Erik was her driver's ed instructor and he didn't want to step on his toes. He doubted Marie would be interested in doubling with him on his motorcycle either. His list of things he used to do with Marie when she was little was getting painfully short.

Marie looked up as Logan joined her at the dinner table while she was having lunch and dropped a deck of cards in front of her plate. She stared at the cards, then lifted her head to meet his eyes.

"Poker?" he asked from where he stood behind his chair.

Marie looked back down at the cards again. She had been planning on going back to her bedroom and reading for awhile but this might be a nice change of pace. Of course, it was poker with her father, so it wouldn't be that great. But then, it had been awhile since they last played and he was really good. Although Marie had taught her friends how to play, she usually ended up the victor, not so when playing with Logan. The game she'd played with Remy and the other boys at Warren's party was the first really challenging game she'd had in years.

"Okay," Marie agreed.

Logan was a little surprised but much relieved by her acceptance. He sat down and opened up the deck while Marie finished off her lunch and took her plate to the sink. By the time Marie returned to the table Logan had shuffled and dealt out the cards.

"Game's Five Card Draw," Logan said.

"Okay," Marie replied, picking up her cards to have a look at them.

He pushed a box of toothpicks over to her and then game soon began. It was a very quiet game, conversation restricted to the game itself, but then neither had anything to really say to the other. Marie didn't want to discuss her life with him and she didn't want to hear anything he had to say. Talking had never been Logan's strong suit either, he much preferred action.

The game went on for quite some time before either party got bored. When they did go their separate ways, Marie left without glaring at him or making some snide comment so Logan counted it as a victory.

* * *

Feeling satisfied with the success of his poker game with Marie, Logan decided that the next step, it being Christmas and all, was to do some Christmas stuff. It had been awhile since Logan last celebrated Christmas and he'd forgotten all about the hell that was Christmas shopping. By the time he got back home with a tree in the back of his pickup and a couple of bags on the front seat, he was cranky and irritable, wishing he had foot-long claws so he could have skewered all the people who had gotten in his way that day.

Marie was sitting on the lounge watching Christmas specials when Logan came in loaded up with bags. She took one look at his face and absolutely knew that doing anything to annoy him would be suicidal. She remembered that expression quite well. Marie looked back at the TV and concentrated on making herself as inconspicuous as possible.

"Gimme a hand here, kid," Logan said.

Obediently, Marie got up and moved quickly towards Logan to help him bring in the tree. She was very surprised to see the tree, not having expected for Logan to get into the spirit of the season at all. She helped Logan get the tree into the lounge and quickly cleared a space in the corner for them to put it.

Once the tree was set up, Logan brought out the decorations he bought. They opened the packets, tied strings to baubles as needed, and decorated the tree in silence. Logan was very much relieved that he didn't get any fussing from Marie. He really wasn't in the mood for any arguments with her after the day he'd had so far.

"So," Logan said, holding out the final ornament, a big gold star, "you want the honour?"

"Yeah, sure," Marie replied, gingerly taking the star with not quite the amount of enthusiasm Logan was hoping for.

Logan watched as Marie didn't even have to step on her toes to put the star onto the top of the tree. It didn't feel like it was that long ago when she was little enough for him to pick up, swing her around in the air, and sit her on his shoulders. Now she was taller than he was, even if was only a few inches. Marie caught him looking at her.

"What?" she asked.

Logan gave a half shrug.

"Just remembering when I used to have to pick you up to put the star on the tree," he said.

Marie frowned slightly.

"Yeah?" she said. "I don't remember any Christmases with you at all."

They looked at each other and Logan realised she really didn't remember, she wasn't actually having a dig at him for once. He scratched his head, feeling awkward.

"Well, there weren't many," he said, "always tried to send you something though."

"Yeah, I got those," Marie replied, "you never gave me what I really wanted."

"I never knew what you really wanted," Logan said gruffly. "I tried asking Irene, but that woman's so damn cryptic at times."

Marie shook her head. He wasn't getting it and she wasn't feeling inclined to explain.

"That's not what I meant," was all she said and she departed leaving Logan feeling somewhat puzzled.

* * *

Marie thought the school was rather eerie when it was so empty. She had gotten used to there being so many people around. In a way it was kind of fun to have the place to herself, even if most of it was all locked up.

A couple of days before Christmas it came to Marie's attention that a large building on the campus she had never seen open before was actually open. The building was very long and tall with a large roller shutter in the front. It was this roller shutter which was opened. Cautiously, Marie approached to investigate and realised that the building was actually a hangar. To the far side there was a bright yellow light aircraft and right in front of her was a sleek black jet.

Not seeing anyone around, Marie quietly stepped inside to take a closer look. As she got closer to the jet she realised this was the one she had ever looked at and she did so with wide-eyed fascination.

"It's an ex-military Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird," came a voice abruptly out of the quiet. Marie jumped and turned to see Professor Xavier behind her. "A strategic reconnaissance aircraft. They were retired back in '98 but this one still works just fine."

Marie looked back at the Blackbird.

"Does she ever fly?" she asked.

"We take her out occasionally, along with her roommate," Professor Xavier replied with a nod towards the yellow plane. "Ms Monroe is the usual pilot these days. I'm sure that if you stay on your good behaviour, and your father doesn't object, she would be happy to take you for a flight some time."

"Really?" Marie asked hopefully. "I've always wanted to fly."

"Then perhaps you'll get your chance."

* * *

Marie looked at Logan with big, pleading eyes and her hands clasped together under her chin.

"And the Professor said if it's okay with you and Ms Monroe, then I could go for a flight," she said. "Please, please, please? I wanna fly more than anything in the world."

Logan couldn't help but smile. He was on the verge of saying 'yes' when she added:

"Please, Daddy?"

The smile vanished from his face.

"Well," he said tersely, "I was about about say 'yes' but—"

"Yay!"

"I said _was_," Logan said, cutting off Marie's celebration. "You haven't called me 'daddy' in years. In fact the last few months you've only called me 'father', or 'Dad' sarcastically. I wasn't born yesterday, kid. You don't really think I'm that easy to manipulate, do you?"

Marie pressed her lips together tightly as she dropped her hands.

"Okay so maybe I went a little too far," she conceded, dropping the cute tone she used earlier. "But come onnnn, I never ask you for anything."

"Yeah, well, that was probably because I was never around for you to ask," Logan said, frowning at her. "That's what you were thinking, right? Because I admit it, I wasn't, and I regret that. I would really like to make things up to you, but I'm not some poor schmuck you can just wrap around your little finger every time you want something and treat like dirt whenever you have no use for me. You can go flying when you learn some respect."

"Respect?" Marie repeated, making an effort to remain polite even if it came out a little forced. "Respect needs to be earned."

"Exactly. You want to be respected, you start by respecting others," Logan replied firmly, pointing at Marie with his index finger to make the point. "And you keep on being respectful even if you're talking to the rudest person on the face on the earth."

"You mean yourself?" Marie asked sweetly.

"You don't have to like or agree with my decisions to respect me," Logan said sternly. "But you're damn well going to start being respectful to me and to everyone else, regardless of what you think of them, you got that?"

"Sure. You want me to be two-faced."

"I want you to be respectful. I don't want you to suck up to someone when it's convenient and then bitch behind their back," Logan said, considered, then added, "Not unlike how you were behaving just a few moments ago."

"I—" Marie started to say, not really knowing what it was that she wanted to say.

"You're better than that, Anna," Logan said. "Start acting like it."

* * *

Logan was not expecting any company on Christmas Day, so both he and Marie were surprised when there was a knock on the door on Christmas morning. He opened up the door to find Victor on the other side loaded up with a couple of presents, a six pack of beer, and a few of bags of chips.

"What are you doing here?" Logan demanded.

"What's it look like I'm doing?" Victor replied in a tone that was just as harsh. "I'm celebrating Christmas with my family."

"We've never celebrated Christmas together."

"Then this present I got you is way overdue."

"Keep it," Logan insisted. "All the 'presents' you ever got me usually involved your fists anyway."

"At least I got you something. You've never given me anything," Victor replied. "You probably didn't even get me a Christmas present this year."

Logan growled. "Go away, Creed."

"What kind of example are you setting for Marie with this attitude?" Victor asked in mock-offended innocence. "It's Christmas and you're sending your beloved brother away?"

"Half-brother, and yes."

"Well, I guess we'll just have to hope that Marie gets her family values from Raven," Victor said wickedly. "You know, I actually had the good fortune to see her the other day—"

"You saw her?" Marie asked eagerly, having heard the entire exchange and jumping up quickly to join her father at the door.

"Yeah," Victor said, smirking at Logan. "I saw her."

Before Logan and Victor could engaged into another power struggle via staring contest, Marie spoke:

"Father," she said with smug sweetness. "Don't you think it's a little disrespectful to leave your only brother standing on the doorstop, on Christmas Day of all times, and especially when he has gone to all the trouble of bringing something to add to our table?"

Logan growled and Victor grinned triumphantly at him.

"In fact," Marie went on, "I would say it was outright rude."

Logan gritted his teeth and finally opened up the door for Victor to come in.

"Gotta love Southern hospitality," Victor said as he walked in with a wink at Marie, "and today, kid, I'm Uncle Victor."

Logan hated that he had allowed Marie the chance to use his own words against him but he was even more frustrated about Victor joining them. Victor was never this family-oriented. He never bought people presents (unless hunting him down on his birthday every year just to beat him up counted as a present) and he certainly never brought something to add to the dinner table. He was definitely up to something. And what was with mentioning he'd seen Raven, anyway?

Victor placed the presents he'd bought under the tree with the others there, put the beer in the fridge (swiped one of Logan's already cold beers), and left the packets of chips on the table with the rest of the food. Then he sat on the lounge and proceeded to enjoy said beer.

"So," Marie said, sitting at another lounge across from him. "You mentioned you saw my mother?"

Victor took a long swig of his beer.

"That's right," he said.

There was a long silence and Marie realised it was up to her to keep the conversation going.

"How was she?"

"Seemed just like her old self to me," Victor replied with a hint of malice in his voice.

"Did you talk to her at all?"

"Nope," Victor said, then threw a smirk at Logan. "She was busy kissing this other man. I didn't want to interrupt."

"Sure you didn't," Logan replied, glaring at him.

Marie hesitated. "There wasn't a kid with them by any chance?"

"A kid?" Victor asked.

"Apparently I have a half brother," Marie told Victor, much to Logan's annoyance. "That's why she left."

Victor looked at Marie for a moment, then started laughing. Marie glared at him, she didn't think it was funny at all.

"Actually, unless I miss my guess," Victor said, grinning maliciously at Logan. "You have two half brothers."

"Two?" Marie queried, confused.

"No one told you about the kid she had before you were born, huh?"

"Noooo..." Did she hear him right?

"And you have no idea, do you, Logan?" Victor said. "You don't know who this other boy or his father is."

"I can't say I really care," Logan replied evenly.

Victor laughed some more and wiped the tears from his eyes, he'd been laughing that hard.

"I take it all back, runt," he said. "You did give me a present this year. I can't wait for the pay off."

"You know who my brother is?" Marie asked urgently, having mixed feeling about the whole thing. "Brothers?"

Victor's response was a wicked chuckle. Marie took that as a "Yes, and because I hate my brother that's all I'm going to say."

The meal that followed was tense. Logan had been hoping for a quiet day with his daughter, and to do some more bonding, but Victor's presence put a stop to that. Even the poker game they ended up playing failed to lighten the atmosphere. Finally, they exchanged presents.

"Well," Marie said, picking up a hefty box. "I have no idea what this is, since you bought it for yourself, but Merry Christmas, father."

"Thanks, darlin'," Logan replied, accepting the present, passing on a smaller box to her in turn, "and Merry Christmas to you too."

Victor rolled his eyes like he couldn't believe he was a willing witness to the exchange. Logan's present was a six pack of beer, which lead Marie to pulling a face at him.

"I'm a simple man," Logan said with a shrug.

"Yeah," Victor piped up. "I noticed."

Marie opened up her present and was very much surprised to find a pair of black silk gloves inside. They were very nice gloves too, with intricate embroidery. She liked them, but she was rather confused. She knew Logan knew she had only started wearing gloves to annoy him, so why would he buy her more?

"Oh, umm, thank you," Marie said, belatedly remembering to speak. "They're gorgeous."

"Oh, good," Logan replied. "I had no idea what to get you, but I didn't want to get you money again this year."

Fortunately, Marie was spared from having to dwell on her confusion by Victor brandishing his presents. Logan opened his with suspicion written clearly all over his face and was surprised to find a box of cigars inside. Good cigars even.

"Oh, wow," Marie said.

Logan's head shot up to see Marie holding a couple of pieces of paper that looked suspiciously like tickets, and since they were coming from Victor, Logan didn't think they'd be to something family friendly like The Wiggles. All at once Logan understood, Victor was once again trying to get to him through Marie.

"And I have a third ticket right here," Victor said, patting his pocket. "It'll be a late night, so you—and whoever you decide to take—will need a chaperone. I'd be happy to take you if your dad doesn't want to."

"What is it?" Logan asked tersely.

"Friends of Humanity," Marie said, declining to mention she couldn't stand the band herself.

"Friends of..." Logan paused, narrowing his eyes at Victor, who grinned nastily back at him, and growled.

"I suggest taking Remy," Victor said, directing his comment to Logan rather than Marie. "I believe he's a fan."

Marie put the tickets down. Victor wasn't trying to be the "cool uncle", he was more interesting in being the annoying brother and she was being dragged along for the ride.

"And there's more to this than just the tickets," Victor went on. "I got backstage passes at home."

Marie's eyes widened.

"Backstage passes?" she repeated. "How?"

For backstage passes she could pretend to be a fan.

"Yeah, Victor, how?" Logan asked, cocking his head to the side.

"Your...cousin..." Victor said, now looking at Marie, "happens to be the lead singer."

Marie blinked and tried to remember the lead singer's name. "Graydon Creed?"

"That doesn't answer the question," Logan said, smirking at Victor. "Graydon hates your guts, and he hates his mother's guts. He hates you more than Marie hates me. You can hear it in every damn song that brat of yours sings."

Marie chewed her bottom lip. She did seem to recall something about the Friends of Humanity having a lot of songs about hating parents.

"In fact, I think my favourite song is 'Death of the Sabretooth'," Logan added. "So what happened, Creed? How did you manage to get backstage passes? Or is that just another one of your lies?"

"Why lie when the truth is so much more terrible?" Victor asked. "I have my ways, and the passes are very real. That's all you need to know."

"Graydon doesn't know you have them, does he?"

"I'm really going to enjoy this little family reunion."


	12. Live a Little

**Chapter 12: Live a Little**

"The concert isn't for another month," Marie told Remy during lunch the first day back at school, "but 'Uncle Victor' said you were a fan and I should bring you."

Remy pulled a face. "I'd ask why he would say that when I can't stand them but I think it's completely obvious."

"What's completely obvious?" Pietro asked, he was sitting at the table with them.

"You're not very quick, are you?" Remy said. "Howlett doesn't want me dating his daughter and Creed will do anything to piss his brother off," he turned to Rogue. "Which reminds me, there's something I want to do on our next mile run."

"Oh?" Marie asked.

"Tell you later."

"I still can't believe you're related to that psycho, Graydon," said John, shaking his head. "Creed's son, now that I can totally see."

"Yeah," Marie said. "It was really weird too, the way Creed kept referring to him as my cousin, as if there was something else he wasn't telling me. That on top of finding out I apparently have another half brother I didn't know about, one who was born before me."

She sighed to herself and tried not to think about how her mother had children to three different men.

"You don't suppose Graydon's your other half brother, do you?" Wanda asked thoughtfully.

Marie blanched and then shook her head.

"I doubt it," she said. "If he was my brother, why refer to him as my cousin? Creed wants to annoy my father, surely calling Graydon my brother would be more annoying."

"By the way," John said, "changing the subject completely, I have a little prank I wish to pull in the locker room tomorrow..."

* * *

In the usual nature of the small school it didn't take long for everyone to find out about Marie and Victor's relationship to the lead singer of the Friends of Humanity. One certain person promptly freaked out and tracked her down upon hearing the news.

"You got tickets and backstage passes for the Friends of Humanity?" Cameron demanded urgently.

"Uhh... yes..." Marie replied awkwardly.

"Please take me with you! They're the awesomest band ever!"

"Wow, you actually like them?" Marie asked.

"Yes! I have all the albums and all their—" while Cameron rattled off his list of Friends of Humanity merchandise, Marie couldn't help but feel impressed that she actually found someone at the school who liked them. Most people she talked too agreed that they sucked and she was starting to wonder why they were so popular.

"Well, sugar, I'd be happy to take you but are you sure you want to be chaperoned by Coach Creed?" Marie asked cautiously. "More to the point, are you sure you want to go backstage and meet the band with him? I understand that Creed and umm, Creed, don't exactly get along..."

"Good point," Cameron replied, looking torn and thoughtful at the same time. "It's no secret that Graydon thinks his father is monster and his mother is a whore. Showing up with his dad might not be the best way to make a good impression... but I wanna meet them... this sucks."

"It's up to you," Marie said. "I'd be happy to try and get their autographs instead?"

"Yeah, I might take you up on that," he said, then shrugged. "I already bought a ticket when they went on presale anyway. Thanks Marie."

* * *

At the end of another gym class spent practising the vault and using the balance beam, the Brotherhood boys took their time heading back to the locker room. They were casual and chatty enough that the X-Men didn't really think anything of it and as such they were all in their cubicles getting changed when the Brotherhood finally arrived. Some of the Brotherhood lingered outside while the others headed in and went to their own cubicles.

Shortly, a siren which sounded suspiciously like an emergency drill started blasting from the boy's locker room. There was a delay while the unsuspecting X-Men registered the noise, in some cases over the water in the showers. In rapid succession the X-Men grabbed their stuff and hurriedly left their cubicles to run out, many half-dressed and wet.

The X-Men didn't get far before the Brotherhood boys, who were waiting for them, started laughing at their expense. Some of them took longer than others to register what that laughter meant and that the siren could only be heard coming from their locker room. John grinned at them all from the doorway.

"What the devil do you kids think you're up to?" Logan demanded, stalking over to them as John quickly shut the siren off. "Get back in there."

Scott, who was looking particularly dishevelled with wet hair and only a pair of pants on, spoke up, "I believe we've been the victim of a prank."

Logan gave the group a long look as Victor joined him. That only the X-Men were half dressed and the Brotherhood hadn't even started changing yet hadn't gone unnoticed.

"What're you swine still doing out here? This isn't a picnic," Victor said, addressing his comments to his Brotherhood. "You've got classes to go to. Hit the damn showers."

The Brotherhood quickly and quietly zipped inside the locker room. Logan told his X-Men to get in there before they catch cold or something. As his kids also returned to the locker room, Logan turned his attention to Victor.

"Your kids pranked mine," Logan stated. "You gonna do something about that?"

"I didn't see a thing," Victor replied with a smirk.

"You're not going to be able to hide behind that forever," Logan said as Victor went back to what he'd been doing.

"No one said I was hiding, runt."

* * *

"Ready, get set," Logan said during their Wednesday gym class. "Go!"

The X-Men and the Brotherhood ran over the starting line and down the track for their one mile run at a good, steady pace. Once they were around the first corner and out of sight of their respective coaches, Remy held out his arm in front of Marie and started to slow down, allowing everyone else to pass them. She looked at him with a curious frown.

"What?" she asked.

"You know how Creed always tells off the slowest one on the team?" Remy asked slyly. "Do you think he'd still tell us off if we arrived over the finish line last and together?"

Marie blinked at him as they slowed down to a walk. Then she giggled.

"My father will have a fit," she said. "Let's do it."

Remy grinned at her and took her hand. The last of their classmates went by them (a few shot curious looks in their direction). The slower pace (although they were by no means dawdling) meant that for the first time Marie actually paid attention to what was around her, not just the track. It was certainly the most scenic track she'd been on. The school buildings mostly took over one side but views of the green grounds or the lake were on the other. At one point Marie noticed the hanger.

"Did you know they have planes here?" she asked as they walked.

"Oui. I even take lessons with Ms Monroe," Remy replied.

"Wow, lucky," Marie said wistfully. "I wanna go but father-dearest won't let me."

Remy let go of her hand and wrapped his arm around her shoulders instead, pulling her close.

"Maybe someday, hein?" he said.

"I hope so."

They continued walking in companionable silence until they started catching up with some of their classmates who had pushed themselves too hard and were straggling. Remy shook his head in disgust.

"Never understood why some people have such a hard time with running," he said.

"Not everyone is as athletically inclined as us, sugar," Marie replied.

"Apparently not."

When they were in danger of overtaking their classmates, Remy stopped walking altogether and pulled Marie to him.

"What you say we give them a chance to get further ahead?" he asked, gently caressing her cheek.

Marie half closed her eyes and lifted her head slightly, just enough so that her lips met his. The kiss was long and enthusiastic, Remy holding her tightly against himself. She knew how to kiss and he loved kissing her. He loved her smell and how she felt in his arms. When they did finally break away and he looked wantonly into her eyes, he couldn't help but feel that she was thinking similar thoughts about him.

"We should go," she said softly.

He gave her a second, quick, kiss and they continued on their way. When they got to the last corner, they let go of each other and moved into a brisk jog. As they headed towards the finish line, Marie was certain she could see steam pouring out of Logan's ears.

They crossed the line and Remy could see Logan working his jaw in an attempt to keep from saying something and only give Victor an excuse to come down on him. Remy turned his attention to Victor, who was looking intolerably smug.

"About time," Victor said but his tone missed any of the usual harshness he applied to the last member of the Brotherhood over the line. "Just because you two are usually amongst the first over the line does not give you an excuse to wool gather. Alright, hit the showers everyone."

Logan dismissed his X-Men as well, barely keeping his tongue in check. It was so frustrating! He had no authority over Remy during gym class and gym class was the only time Remy did anything Logan wanted to discipline him for. He wanted—needed—that bad influence away from his daughter and he had no idea where to even start.

* * *

Logan looked up from his breakfast on Saturday morning to see Marie dressed in her usual layers, gloves and all. He wished she wasn't so fond of tight fitting clothes.

"Going out with Remy again today?" he asked.

Marie was of half a mind to tell him it was none of her business but she was still quite mindful of the fact that he was the only thing standing between her and her chance to go up in a plane. She had been trying to keep the snide comments and rude behaviour down.

"Actually no," she replied. "Wanda and I are going riding."

"Riding? On what?"

"On the horses. You know, those four-legged critters with the long manes who are taller than you," Marie said. She wasn't always successful at keeping the snide comments down.

"Oh right, those," Logan said, having forgotten at that moment that there were horses on the grounds. "Okay then."

"Why? Were you planning on forbidding me from seeing him?" Marie asked.

"No point in that," Logan replied evenly. "This is a small boarding school. There's no way you can avoid seeing him and you'd probably start sneaking out if I did forbid you to date him on the weekends. I just want to know where you are so I can make sure you're safe."

"Well, I'm fine. I can do a pretty good job of taking care of myself," Marie said firmly.

"Lots of teenagers say that but few of them can take care of themselves quite as well as they think they can," Logan said. "It's one of those little things you don't appreciate until later."

"Yeah, well, I'm one of the few then," Marie insisted. "Mama taught me."

She left and as the door shut behind her, Logan muttered under his breath, "That's what worries me."

* * *

The students stepped into the gymnasium on Monday and the newer ones gaped in horror while the older ones groaned in succession, except for Remy, who rubbed his hands together in gleeful anticipation.

"Oh man," Kurt said, taking in all the ropes, balance beams, tyres, plastic tunnels, and the horizontal ladder. "This must be the obstacle course you guys were talking about."

"Yep," said Pietro. "Welcome to the danger room."

"This is what happens when you have ex-military design a course," said Scott.

"I can't believe this is the dumbed down version," Kitty muttered.

"Hey, stop chatting and start changing," Logan yelled at them from the floor.

Things were quite tense in the locker room in anticipation of the upcoming doom. They all trudged out very quietly and gathered around their respective coaches.

"Alright maggots," Victor said to the Brotherhood. "Here's what happens: When you get the signal to go, you crawl through the tunnel, then you run through the tyres and do a two handed vault over the horse. You climb across the tyre swings, then cross the balance beam, run through the ladder, and finally you climb the rope. You complete the course when you touch the marker at the top."

He led them through some warm ups and then he and Logan lined their teams up for the course. There were two of them, side by side. Remy and Scott were sent through first, Victor and Logan waiting until they had gotten to the tyre run before sending in the next two. The rest of the students watched while they waited their turns. The first week back at school had been spent on gymnastics, so Remy and Scott were quite familiar with getting over the vault when they got to it.

Remy went over the tyre swings with ease, ran lightly over the balance beams and jumped off doing a somersault in the process. He had no more issues with the horizontal ladder than he had with the swings and was quick to climb the rope. He easily beat Scott and proceeded to spend the rest of the class watching everyone else with a smirk on his face.

The rest of the class did not have it so easy.

A number of the students had trouble navigating the tyres and the ladder, and many also had difficulty getting over the vault, leading to some congestion there. Logan stood nearby to spot them as they went across, or attempted to, as despite their previous gymnastics classes not everyone had gotten the hang of it. He was pleased to see that Marie was one of the students who did well but then she had been doing pretty well at gym since the beginning.

"Alright," Logan said at the end of the class, "that wasn't bad for a first run—"

"Wasn't bad?" Victor sneered. "With that attitude it's no wonder your X-Men are so pathetic. My Brotherhood better lift their damn game if they know what's good for them."

"As I said," Logan continued on to the X-Men, "that wasn't bad for a first run but I expect by the time we're done with the obstacle course for the year that you will have much improved."

Logan glanced over at the Brotherhood, specifically Remy, and then at Victor.

"Enlighten me, _brother_, is the Cajun usually the best on your team for the course?" Logan asked.

"I think that goes without saying," Victor said, smirking back at him.

"Good," Logan turned back to his team and pointed his thumb at Remy. "First person to beat LeBeau gets five reward points and every one after that gets one."

His announcement had the desired effect: his team took on a mix of excitement and anticipation with a little bit of disappointment from those who didn't believe they had what it took to beat Remy. Remy laughed like the whole thing was some kind of joke, while his teammates were a little annoyed but mostly gleeful. Victor shot daggers at Logan.

"What about for us day students?" Kurt asked, knowing that the reward points were primarily intended for boarders.

"We'll figure something out," Logan replied.

"You're going down, X-Men," John shouted. "No one can best our man, Remy."

"Yeah!" the rest of the Brotherhood chorused in agreement.

"Five points," Victor spoke up, "to every member of the Brotherhood who can finish the course without being beaten by any of the X-Men."

Remy started calculating. They'd probably be at this for two weeks, four days a week, not counting this day: 35 rewards points just for him. Excellent.

There was some cheering and excitement from the Brotherhood, as well as a few taunts thrown at the X-Men. One of the X-Men muttered something about it not being fair.

"We're going to cream the pants off you," Lance declared.

"You can just suck it," Tabitha retorted.

"Smith, no trash talk," Logan said. "Alright, hit the showers everyone."

Lance snickered as Victor also dismissed his team.

"Yeah, Smith," Lance taunted. "Go to the kitchen and make me a sammich."

"Lance!" Kitty exclaimed, stopping in her tracks to turn and glare at him. "Take that back right now."

"Aww, Kitty-cat, it's just a bit of fun," Lance replied.

"It's sexist and you should be ashamed," Kitty insisted, wagging her finger at him. "And don't try to tell me it's just a bit of fun. You meant it and you know it."

"Heh heh," Fred said as he walked by. "Whipped."

"Shuddup!" Lance snapped.

"I've got this," Tabitha said to Kitty, then turned her attention to Lance. "Sure, I'll make you a sammich; with your dick."

"Hey!" Logan shouted. "I told you to hit the showers! Get a move on."

* * *

"One of us has to be able to take down Remy," Bobby said after the Brotherhood boys left the locker room, "If anything, it would be great payback for the smoke bomb thing."

"The detention was annoying," Scott agreed, "and finally a revenge plan that isn't a prank."

"Yes, I think it's safe to say that Remy and John were definitely responsible for the smoke bombs," Kurt mused as he left his cubicle.

"I thought you already decided that," Jamie pipped in, "you went all detective and everything."

"Well, they did deny doing it pretty strongly," Kurt pointed out. "They haven't so strongly denied being involved in the other pranks though, and that was the only one that landed anyone in detention."

"We don't need them to admit it," Jamie waved him off. "We know they did it, that's enough to warrant revenge."

"Yeah," Bobby clapped his hands together, "now, who of us do we think has the best chance at beating Remy and who wants in on the next prank?"


	13. Catch Me If You Can

**AN: **

Normally I think that responding to reviews (especially anonymous ones) in ANs is tacky, but this one was too good not to share with you guys. Kudos to anonymous reviewer "Sporks" for sharing the greatest response to "Get in the kitchen and make me a sammich!" I have ever heard:

"You want a sammich? THEN GET IN THE GARAGE AND FIX THE CAR, ASSHOLE!"

I love it. That's just awesome and I am definitely going to use it in the future :D

* * *

**Chapter 13: Catch Me If You Can**

Aside from the reward point incentives, nothing really changed in gym class. Logan and Victor traded off spotting students on the vault and timing them with the special stopwatch computer program which could handle multiple students at once with different starting times. In the intervening 24 hours, the two men had managed to put their differences aside long enough to come to an agreement that whoever was timing wouldn't cheat.

As they had the day before, Remy and Scott were the first two to run the course. Logan was looking after the timing while Victor spotted. Since neither boy actually needed a spot, Victor kept his eye on Logan, knowing (this being the first day of their agreement) that Remy's time was the critical one. This run went much the same as the day before; Remy showed off and still managed to beat Scott by a long shot despite the latter's best attempts to the contrary.

Logan announced Remy's time as the time for his team to beat. Knowing what his team had scored the day before, he wasn't sure if he should get too hopeful about someone beating Remy but it was hard not to when he really wanted to see that smirk wiped off Remy's face. Still, there was a chance the little brat's cockiness would get the best of him as Remy wasted time showing off while everyone else was actually trying to get the best time they could.

At appropriate intervals, Logan sent more students into the course, allowing plenty of time for everyone so there wouldn't be any queues forming at an obstacle. Having to keep track of all the starts and finishes made it easier for Logan to ignore Remy and Marie when she finished and with a really good time in his opinion. Logan did not want to watch them flirting with each other and he definitely didn't want to see Remy holding her hand or touching Marie at all really. He had to ignore it. If he didn't he'd end up saying something and Victor was probably just waiting for any excuse to pounce.

Finally, the last of the students completed the course and as they caught their breath, Logan used the tablet computer to sort the times in order. He clenched his jaw when he saw which name had come first. Still, the name under that was reasonably close and it was one of his X-Men. He called for everyone's attention.

"The student with the best time..." Logan read from the table, "is LeBeau."

Remy and Victor both smirked. The Brotherhood cheered. Logan waited for them to shut up before reading out the second best time:

"Grey."

Jean's head shot up as her teammates cheered for her. Some noises of disappointment could be heard amongst the Brotherhood who realised only Remy would be getting reward points from their coach today. Logan gave her a nod.

"Keep up the good work," he said. "Alright kids, hit the showers."

* * *

Jean glanced over at Scott, who was sitting at the table in the library, staring at his closed book.

"Penny for your thoughts?" she asked quietly.

Scott started and lifted his head to look at his girlfriend.

"Oh, uhh," he said, "just thinking about gym class."

"Really?" Jean asked, raising her eyebrow at him. "Gym?"

"It's hard not to these days. That's where most of the pranks have been happening and then there's this rivalry between our coaches..." Scott shook his head. "It's very unprofessional."

"I'm sure Professor Xavier will put a stop to it if he thinks it's getting out of hand," Jean replied. "But competition is encouraged in gym class, and you have to admit, no one's ever gotten the better of Remy at the obstacle course."

"If Howlett was actually interested in promoting competition, he wouldn't have made beating Remy's time the qualifier," Scott insisted, " a blanket 'whoever comes first' thing. No, he wants us to beat Remy, specifically."

"Like I said, no one's ever gotten the better of him," Jean said. "Maybe it's a bit of an unattainable goal, but it does give me an incentive to try harder, which I wouldn't have had if it was just first out of the X-Men."

"I guess," Scott said reluctantly.

* * *

Logan found it tempting at the beginning of the Thursday gym class to run Jean alongside Remy for their turn of the course instead of Scott. She had gotten the fastest time last time (not that there had been much of a gap between Jean and Scott) and it would be easy to see straight away who got the faster time. Logan decided against it; in fact he went one step further and decided to put Jubilee first. Jubilee was one of the slower students but was confident enough to show off on the vault and balance beam. Logan liked the idea of Remy competing 'blind', pitting him against one of the slower students meant that he wouldn't have a true gauge of his opponent's speed. Logan hoped this would throw him off.

Jubilee felt a little nervous about being first and ended up stumbling in the tires on the way through. The snickers from the Brotherhood didn't do much to help calm her nerves. She still managed to fly over the vault with grace. Remy was well ahead of her by that point but Jubilee wasn't worried, she hadn't expected to beat him anyway.

Scott watched the others thoughtfully while he waited in line, taking in their progress, strengths and weaknesses. There weren't many he thought were capable of giving Remy a run for his money, on either team. Pietro was a possibility, if nothing else the guy could move fast. Marie was doing fairly average as far as Scott could tell, but he'd also noticed that she was pretty adaptable and suspected she'd be doing significantly better at the course by the end of the two weeks. Himself and Jean were good, of course, but they'd both been fairly athletic. As for the rest of their teammates, Kitty had proven to be fairly agile and she flew through the tyres and ladder like they weren't even there. And although Scott had been initially put off by Kurt's 'clowning around and showing off', he realised the younger boy was actually pretty good.

Scott finally did the course himself, and when he got to the end, Remy greeted him with a sly smile.

"About time you got here, Summers," Remy said. "Took you long enough."

Scott narrowed his eyes as Remy turned his back on him. How he'd just love to wipe that smirk from his face.

"And the best time goes to," Victor said, looking at the computer in his hands once everyone had completed the course, "LeBeau."

Victor rattled off the time while Remy stood there and gloated using nothing but the expression on his face.

"Maximoff, Pietro," Victor went on, announcing the second place winner with a smirk, making a mental note to finally get around to giving the Maximoff twins nicknames. He read off Pietro's time, and then moved onto the third place: "Summers."

That surprised Scott a little. He thought that Jean would have gotten the top time on their team again. Apparently not.

* * *

Kurt caught Scott eyeing him during lunch and found it most disconcerting.

"What?" Kurt asked. "Do I have something stuck in my teeth?"

"Hmm? Oh, no, I don't think so," Scott replied quickly, having realised he must have been staring at Kurt while lost in his thoughts. "No, actually I was thinking about this obstacle course."

"Aww man, do we have to think about that?" Kurt asked. "You guys were completely right about that thing. It's horrible! No wonder you call that place the danger room."

"Oh that's nothing," said Warren. "Just wait until we get into the martial arts."

"They do martial arts?" Tabitha asked, wide-eyed.

"Most of the teachers here are ex-military and all of them think we need to know how to defend ourselves," Jean said. "Officially they call it 'self defence' but in reality they teach us a few moves and then pit us against each other."

"Yeah," said David. "It's just shy of a mixed martial arts ultimate fighting championship."

"I wouldn't go that far."

"I would."

"Anyway!" Scott cut in loudly before turning his attention back to Kurt. "You looked like you were handling the course pretty well."

Kurt shrugged. "Not as well as you and Jean."

"No really," Scott insisted. "I'm sure you climbed up that rope at least as fast as Remy."

"You think? He's pretty good," Kurt said dubiously.

"Yeah, and he also shows off."

"Well, he's not the only one," Kurt pointed out mischievously.

"Noticed that," Scott said seriously. "I'm just thinking, you handle most of the obstacles pretty well. You climb fast, you can do the vault without any trouble, and I haven't seen you trip or anything on the tires or the ladder. I think if you stopped the showing off part and concentrated more on being fast, you could beat Remy."

"Me beat Remy?" Kurt asked. "Okay, now I _know_ you're just messing with me. No way am I that good."

"Actually, I think he's got a point," Jean said thoughtfully. "Even if you couldn't beat him, you could at least give him a run for his money."

Kurt looked around the table. "You think so?"

"Hey, it doesn't hurt to try," Jean said. "And most of us are trying... well, except those of us who don't think we have a chance. You're not one of them are you?"

"I'm not really sure I can go faster," Kurt said thoughtfully. "I'm an acrobat, not a speed demon. But I could try."

* * *

Kurt felt like all eyes were on him on Friday's gym class. He took a deep breath when he got to the front of the line and waited for Logan's signal. It came and Kurt practically threw himself onto the floor in an effort to get through the crawling part of the course as quickly as possible. He hated the crawling part.

Then he was on his feet, racing through the tyres. He ran up to the vault, jumped off the springboard and propelled himself over the vault. He had no problems climbing across the tyre swings quickly and he scampered across the balance beam like he belonged there. The horizontal ladder slowed him down, as the tire run had, but then he was grabbing the rope and climbing up as swiftly as a monkey.

The moment Kurt touched the top, he knew it was his best time. He just knew it. No one was more anxious than he to find out who the winner was.

"Best time goes to... LeBeau," Logan announced much to his frustration and Kurt disappointment. "Maximoff, Pietro came second..."

"Yes!" Pietro exclaimed, thrusting his arms in the air, turning to sneer at the X-Men. "Suckers."

Logan glanced at Victor. Victor ignored him. Logan shook his head and went back to the computer in his hands. "Third, Grey."

Jean nodded. The coaches sent their students to the locker rooms. Kurt started to go but hesitated and headed back to Logan.

"Uhh, excuse me sir," he said. "I was wondering how I did? I thought I was faster today."

"Not fast enough," Victor sneered, having overheard the request.

"Maybe not today," Logan retorted as he picked up the computer again, turning his attention back to Kurt. "Let's see... yeah, you did do a lot better, kid. You're normally mid-range, today you came sixth, right behind... Marie and Summers."

Logan read out the times and Kurt nodded, a bright smile appearing on his face.

"Okay," said Kurt, "that is very encouraging. Thank you, Coach Howlett."

"No problem."

* * *

Lord Wagner was not at all impressed when he came home from work that evening to discover that Kurt had rearranged the living room. One of the two two-seater lounges had been moved so that it faced the other, and a sheet had been draped across the cushions with some books, movies, and ornaments to keep the it in place. There was a scuffle of noise and Kurt's head peeked out from underneath. Lord Wagner looked down at him with disapproval.

"Aren't we a little old to be building forts?" Lord Wagner said in German.

"It's not a fort," Kurt replied, also in German. "I'm practising something for school."

"I really don't appreciate you lying to me—"

"It's not a lie!" Kurt insisted and his father frowned at him, annoyed with being interrupted. "We're doing an obstacle course in gym class. I'm trying to improve my time by practising crawling for the crawling part."

Lord Wagner took a long look at Kurt but his son was staring back at him so earnestly that he was forced to concede that Kurt was probably being serious. He gave a long suffering sigh.

"Your insistence on performing acrobatics like some sort of circus clown I can tolerate, but only because it is good exercise," Lord Wagner said, then gestured to the modifications Kurt had made to the living room, "but you are no longer a baby, and as such, crawling is beneath you. Clean up this mess then go to your room. I'm sure you have some _real_ homework to attend to."

Kurt stifled a sigh and stood up. "Yes, sir."

Lord Wagner gave him a nod of acknowledgement and started to leave the room.

"Uhh, Father? Have you heard from Mother recently?" Kurt asked quickly before his father could leave his sight.

"Yes, as a matter of fact," Lord Wagner replied. "She will be picking you up tomorrow for lunch."

"Oh good," Kurt then asked before he could censor himself, "You seem to be seeing a lot of each other?"

Kurt knew it was silly to hope that his parents might get back together but he couldn't help but be a little bit hopeful. Lord Wagner cleared his throat.

"Yes we have," he then departed without another word.

* * *

Kurt spent most of his weekend either in the company of his mother or working on his obstacle running skills. He determined that his bed was at just the right height above the floor to make a good crawling-practice area... just as soon as he cleaned all the junk out from under it.

Come Sunday night, Kurt was feeling quite confident about his crawling abilities. When his arms were so sore he couldn't practice any longer, he threw them up in the air in triumph after his last crawl. He knew he was really getting this crawling business down pat.

"Yes!" he declared. "I am the crawler! I am the nightcrawler!" he crawled up onto the bed, "I am..." then raised his sore arms up high, "the Incredible Nightcrawler!"

"Kurt!" Lord Wagner yelled at him through the door. "Go to bed!"

Red burning his cheeks, the Incredible Nightcrawler scurried under the covers. "Sorry Father, Good night."

"Good night, Kurt." his father replied. "And son..."

"Yes Father?"

"You're not a worm."

* * *

Kurt was a little disappointed at the end of Monday's gym class when Victor read out the winners: Remy, Pietro, and Scott. He'd been really hoping that he'd improved after his weekend of practising. He _knew_ he was faster doing the crawling part. Logan seemed to notice.

"Who came fourth and fifth?" Logan asked Victor.

"Who cares?" Victor replied.

"I do. Call it curiosity."

Victor snorted but glanced back down at the screen. "Wagner and Skunkhead."

Marie pulled a face at the hated nickname and Remy pulled her into him in commiserations.

Kurt's face lit up. Fourth! Yes!

* * *

"First place, LeBeau," Logan announced at the end of Tuesday's class. "Second, Summers. Third—"

"We don't need to know who came third," Victor piped up, sneering with his arms folded across his chest. "If you didn't come first, you're a loser."

"Third," Logan pointedly ignored Victor. "Wagner."

"Yes!" Kurt exclaimed.

"Fourth, Howlett," Logan went on and Marie smiled. At least she could count on her dad not to call her names. "Fifth, Grey."

"Getting a little behind there, eh Pietro?" Tabitha taunted.

"We all have our off days," Pietro replied with a shrug. "And I'm going to kick all your asses in the run tomorrow, as usual."

* * *

"Would you believe I'm actually disappointed we're not running the course today?" Kurt asked while he and the rest of the X-Men warmed up before their one mile run.

"I'm not," Tabitha piped up.

"You've been doing really well," Scott said, grinning at Kurt. "See? I knew you had it in you."

"Thanks," Kurt replied proudly.

Logan called them to the starting line once their warm ups were complete and they took off at his signal alongside the Brotherhood. Logan then waited in silence with Victor for their return. While Logan was hoping Remy and Marie wouldn't be delayed again, Victor was contemplating nicknames for Pietro.

Since Pietro was Victor's fastest student, he mulled over speed-themed names. Speedy? Fast-boy? Zipper? Quickie? Nah, 'Quickie' made him think of something else, and it wasn't like Pietro was the one dating Marie, although the thought of referring to Marie's boyfriend as 'Quickie' in front of Logan amused Victor a great deal. As Pietro ran over the line, first as usual, a new name popped into Victor's head and he pointed at Pietro.

"From now on, you're Quicksilver, got it?" Victor informed him.

"Uhh, yes coach?" Pietro replied uncertainly as he slowed down to a walk.

Victor nodded, pleased with himself, and waited the arrival of the rest of his team.

* * *

Victor glared at the results on the screen in his hands while Logan and the students looked at him expectantly at the end of Thursday's gym class. He was not at all impressed with what he was seeing.

"First place, LeBeau," Victor said, his eyes hardened on Remy as he spoke his next words, "and in second place, Wagner, by three fucking seconds."

The X-Men erupted in cheers while Logan tsked at Victor.

"Language, Victor," Logan said with a smirk. "You're in class."

Victor glared at him, then stalked over to Remy who looked back at him steadily.

"You'd better not lose to a damn X-Man tomorrow, LeBeau," Victor growled at him in a low voice so that the still-celebrating X-Men couldn't hear. "You got that?"

"No need to worry, m'sieu Creed," Remy replied, confident on the outside, somewhat perturbed that someone got so close to beating him on the inside. "I will win the same way I always do: in style."

* * *

Knowing their students would be just as anxious to know the outcome of Remy vs Kurt as they were, Logan and Victor decided to save them for the very last; after everyone else had completed the course, not while others were still on it as they normally did. Because of the small time between them, and knowing that they were both biased, they asked Ororo to join them at the end of the class to be the official time keeper. Ororo seemed to find the matter rather amusing but agreed.

Ororo arrived at the class just as the last few students were finishing the course and she walked to Logan side in preparation to free him of the tablet they were using as a stopwatch. Remy glanced over at Kurt who was laughing, joking, and generally looking nervous with his teammates. Remy didn't dare let himself look nervous or worried, but with such a close margin, he was just a teensy bit anxious. It was a matter of pride and he really hated getting on Victor's bad side.

Remy glanced at Victor as he straightened out the course after the last of the students, then over to Ororo and Logan who were busy chatting. Victor's back was to them and Ororo and Logan were facing towards the students. Remy looked over at Marie, who was chatting with Wanda, and slid one arm around her waist tugging her to him.

"Excusez-moi, one moment, Wanda," Remy then promptly planted a big kiss on Marie's lips.

Although taken by surprise, Marie was more than willing to kiss him back with just as much enthusiasm. Wanda rolled her eyes.

"Oh, get a room," she said disgustedly when the kiss started going on a little too long.

"Hmm," Remy said, gazing into Marie's eyes and feeling a lot less nervous. "Not a bad idea."

"I think it's a very bad idea," Ororo said pointedly from behind. "Please save those kind of... social behaviours for your own time, Remy, Marie."

Remy turned around, letting go of Marie, and smiled at their math teacher.

"Désolé, Ms Monroe," Remy said, looking at her but not failing to see the death glare Logan was shooting at him. "Marie is just so beautiful and enchanting, I couldn't resist."

"Learn," Ororo replied in a no-nonsense tone.

Victor returned from inspecting the course, the teachers quickly conferred, then Remy and Kurt were called to the starting line.

"Ready... Set..." Ororo said. "Go."

Remy and Kurt flung themselves into the course. They each hit the ground at about the same time and crawled through the tunnels as fast as they could. Remy was marginally ahead of Kurt, and managed to extend his tiny lead as they ran through the tyres. Remy lost his lead when he opted to do a showy vault, whereas Kurt stuck to his more functional but less flashy option.

Kurt climbed across the three tyre swings with ease, increasing his lead by just a few seconds, and climbed swiftly onto the balance beam. At the same time there was a cry of astonishment from their classmates as Remy somersaulted from the platform on the end of the line of tyre swings onto the balance beam itself. Kurt momentarily faltered, having not expected that, but didn't lose much of his lead as Remy stopped long enough to blow him a kiss.

The two hurried across the balance beam as quickly as they could. Both of them flipped off the end and ran for the ladder. Remy lost only a little time in his run, as the ladder was around a corner and he had the outer side of the turn, but he made up for all the time he'd lost running through the rungs. Kurt and Remy grabbed their ropes at the same time and hauled themselves up to the top.

Everyone's eyes were on the marks at the top, Ororo's especially, her fingers at the ready to mark time. There was no doubt who the winner was, Remy's hand reached the top only moments before Kurt's did.

The two boys dropped to the floor as their classmates applauded and the Brotherhood cheered with triumph. Ororo waited for the noise to die down before announcing the official times, then the Brotherhood proceeded to cheer Remy's victory again. Kurt's face had disappointment written all over it. Remy noticed this and held out his hand.

"Good race," he said, while still getting his breath back. "Close."

Kurt smiled and took Remy's hand. "Yeah it was."

"Never know, you might get me next year," Remy went on with a grin. "Came down to the ropes and I have the advantage of height and longer arm span."

Kurt chuckled lightly between his own panting.

"True that," he said. "Until next year."

* * *

**AN: **And thanks to the wonderful **JayCee's RedGold** (who is fabulously awesome, remember), who kindly edited my Nightcrawler scene so that the joke wouldn't fall flat, like it did in what I originally wrote, heh (it wasn't that bad, really).


	14. Oh My God

**Chapter 14: ****Oh My God**

Logan looked up at Marie from his morning coffee as she entered the kitchen. He cleared his throat.

"So, I spoke to Agatha and I've arranged for you to spend the evening at the girls' dorm tonight," he said as Marie went about getting her breakfast. "You can even have a sleepover if you want, just let Agatha and myself know what you decide."

Marie put her bread in the toaster and turned to regard her father curiously. Agatha was the dorm mother of the girls' dorm.

"Okay," she said slowly. "What's the occasion?"

"Ahh well," Logan cleared his throat again, awkwardly, "I have a date."

Marie stared at Logan as if he had just flown through the windshield of a car and miraculously healed from a broken neck.

"You... have a date?" she repeated in disbelief.

"Yep."

Marie pondered that for a moment, then shrugged and continued about getting her breakfast. "Okay then."

"Ssoooo, you're okay with it?" Logan asked cautiously. He had no idea what he was supposed to expect from this conversation.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Marie asked, pulling out a glass from the corner cupboard. "I'm sure you've gone on heaps of dates since you and Mama divorced."

"Ahh, yeah, I guess your mama probably did a lot of dating too," Logan said.

Marie shrugged. "I wouldn't know for sure. She went out a lot but she never exactly introduced me to any boyfriends. But then, you and _Uncle Victor_ seem so convinced Mama is a raging slut, who apparently had three children to three different fathers, so for all I know she was getting herself laid every night."

"Maybe, but I doubt it," Logan replied and he took another sip of his coffee before he said something he shouldn't.

Marie grunted and silence fell. She finished getting her breakfast together and sat down at the kitchen table to eat. Logan finished his coffee and put his mug in the sink.

"So," he said, "I think there's something else you should know about tonight..."

"Yeah," Marie replied, her slice of toast hovering in front of her lips. "How long are you expecting to be? Because if you're planning on it being a late night, early morning kind of a date, then I think I should just do the sleepover."

Logan cleared his throat. "Well, I don't expect it to be that late, but that's not what I was... I'm going out with Ms Monroe."

Marie stared at him. Logan looked back at her patiently.

"You're dating my math teacher?" she asked finally.

"Well, it's only one date so far—"

"So far?"

"It might not come to anything—"

"But you want it to!"

"Well, yeah," Logan was determined to regain the upper hand, "I thought you liked her."

"I do like her. That doesn't mean I want you to date her!" Marie exclaimed. "Dammit, isn't there enough drama going on with you and Creed and Remy, without adding this to it?"

"What's happening with me and 'Ro has nothing to do with Remy or Creed and I'm only telling you as a courtesy," Logan replied with a frown at her.

"Whatever," Marie replied. "I'm doing the sleepover. I really don't want to know what time you come back tonight."

"Fine."

"Fine."

* * *

Word quickly got around to the girls that Marie would be staying with them overnight and this inevitably led to a unanimous decision to make a proper sleepover of it, complete with piling up bedding in the lounge and watching movies all night. Agatha agreed to forgo the usual "lights out" on the grounds that it wouldn't be a regular event and it wasn't a school night. A trip into town was organised by the girls to pick up junk food and movies.

Remy and John were waiting for Wanda and Marie as they exited the stables after their ride. Remy wrapped his arm around Marie and not-so-subtlety nudged John towards Wanda.

"Hello ladies," Remy said. "I hear you're having yourself a slumber party tonight."

"Ugh, don't remind me," Wanda said. "It would be fine if it was just Marie and I, but oh no, the whole gaggle had to get in on it."

"Fear no more, Wanda!" John declared as they walked together. "For I have come up with a diabolical evil scheme—"

"You came up with it?" Remy cut in, smirking at John.

"Yes, I came up with it. You just figured out how to pull it off," John insisted. "Ahem, as I was saying, how'd you girls like to help us with a little prank?"

"Of course you two would be all over pulling a prank at a slumber party," Wanda said dryly.

"You can hardly expect us to ignore such a golden opportunity falling into our laps like this," Remy said, grinning broadly. "Plus, no one will expect us to get them so good at such short notice."

"Uh huh," Wanda said blandly.

"So, what exactly did you guys have in mind?" Marie asked.

"That depends," John was grinning. "What movies were you gals planning on seeing tonight?"

"I have a feeling we're going to be subjected to chick flicks and romantic comedies," Wanda bemoaned, "the usual trash."

"Plan A it is then," Remy said gleefully.

* * *

After making arrangements with Marie and Wanda which involved the girls fiddling with some of the equipment in the girls' lounge, John and Remy headed back to Remy's room to finish setting up. Most of the day had gone by this point and it was close to dinner time when they headed down the hallway on the top floor. Right outside Remy's door was a huge patch of white on the floor, messed up with hand and shoe prints.

"What's that?" John asked.

Remy pulled his sleeve down over his hand, a slight smile playing on his lips, and he took the handle of his door.

"Talcum powder," Remy said as he opened the door.

"Oh, it is too," John snickered. "Hey, remember that time last year when we blew talcum powder all over the freshmen rooms?"

"Oui," Remy said, and was well pleased to find that the clear plastic strip he taped to the bottom edge of the door had ensured that there was very little powder in his room. "I wonder who tried to do it to me, and if they'll have all the powder out of their faces come dinner time."

"Who tried to..." John began, then took another look at the bottom of Remy's door while Remy sat down at his computer to complete his plans. "Oh clever. I never thought of taping a guard on my door."

"And because it's clear, they don't realise there's anything in the way," Remy said smugly. "So they go to all that trouble of pouring all that powder in front of my door and taking to it with a portable fan, only to blow the powder into their own faces."

"Nice."

"So, Pyro, when was the last time you went to your room?" Remy asked as he tapped away on his keyboard.

John opened his mouth to reply, paused, looked down at the talcum powder, then swore loudly. Remy chuckled as John raced off.

Sure enough, to John's horror, he got back to his room to find everything covered in fine white talcum powder. Every surface, every piece of furniture, his laptop, the junk he'd left on the floor. Powder had even blown into the ensuite since he had left the door open. John covered his face, groaned, and swore again.

Talcum powder was a pain to try and clean up, but at least none of it got on his notebooks.

* * *

"Oh stop smirking, Remy," John said irritably over dinner.

"Désolé, mon ami, but I always appreciate a good prank," Remy replied as he cut up his food. "I especially like a good prank that back fires."

"As long as it's not back firing on you, right?" Marie asked.

"No, no, I can still appreciate it when I've been had," Remy said, glancing over at the table where most of the X-Men from their gym class were sitting.

Their first discovery over dinner was that all the Brotherhood boys from their gym class had returned to their rooms to find them covered in talcum powder, just as John had.

"You realise, of course, that this means war," Lance said.

"Little late to the party, mon ami," Remy said. "Pyro and I declared war months ago."

"That's right," John said, thumping the table for good measure. "Get with the times, man."

"You guys are aware that if you hadn't started it with the smoke bombs and getting us all detention for a week, there wouldn't be a war," Jason said.

"We was framed," John insisted. "Framed, I tell you."

"Sure you were," Jason replied.

"We was!"

"Uh huh, yeah, sure."

"Enough," Remy said. "Right now it's pretty redundant whether you believe us or not. We have pranks to pull."

* * *

After dinner, the girls gathered in the lounge dressed in their night clothes. They watched the first movie in their pile without incident, partly because the pranksters didn't want to tip their hand too soon and partly because Agatha watched the movie with them.

Agatha retired for the night after the first movie and with their dorm mother out of earshot, Joanne turned her attention to Marie:

"So," Joanne said with a tone far too sharp to be considered 'conversational', "you slept with Remy yet?"

"Uhh, no," Marie replied awkwardly, "not that it's any of your business."

"Hmph, well, that explains why he's still with you then," Joanne replied haughtily.

"Don't be stupid," said Lila. "I was with him for four months and we never did anything. Just as long as you don't bring up the boyfriend thing, he's happy."

"Yeah," Andrea said with a smirk. "What was that he said to you? Just 'cause you're a frenzy in bed—"

"Hey!" Joanne objected, cutting her off.

"Besides, there's a flaw in your theory," Andrea went on. "I've been doing him on and off for two years."

"You have?" Marie asked, wondering if perhaps Remy had seen her while they had been dating and hadn't told her.

"Yeah, I'm his lover in between lovers," Andrea said smugly. "He'll be knocking on my door again, sooner or later."

"Oh puh-lease," Jean said. "Do you even hear yourself, Andrea? You sound pathetic."

"You're just mad because you've never been with him," Andrea replied haughtily.

"No, I'm not," Jean insisted. "First of all, I have dated Remy. Second of all, I broke things off, not because of sex, but because I wasn't going to continue dating a guy who can't even commit to being someone's boyfriend. And you have to admit, that's really stupid, because he has been doing a great job of playing 'boyfriend', he doesn't even date more than one girl at a time."

Marie felt relieved hearing that. She wondered if the other girls knew Remy's dad didn't want him dating but decided not to bring it up. They all knew Remy a lot longer than she had.

"I'm sure Remy is quite fun for a fling," Jean went on, "but I will stick with Scott, who doesn't have any commitment issues."

"Really? Are you sure?" Callisto taunted. "He seems awfully fond of Ms Frost if you ask me."

"Oh right, like having a crush on a teacher is anything to be concerned about," Candy said. "A crush is not the same thing as cheating and it has nothing to do with your ability to commit."

"If Scott cheats on me with Ms Frost, I think we're going to have bigger things to worry about than commitment issues," Jean said blandly. "

"So, just out of curiosity," Jubilee spoke up, "how many of you have dated Remy?"

Andrea, Callisto, Jean, Lila, Joanna, Kitty, and Alison put their hands up.

"Wow," Jubilee said the same time Tabitha said, "He sure gets around, doesn't he?"

"Not all of us slept with him, though," Lila said pointedly. "And do you even count, Jean? You two dated for what? Two weeks?"

"She asked who he had dated," Jean replied simply. "And technically we did. No one says your relationship doesn't count just 'cause you didn't get into bed with him."

"And Marie?" Andrea said, looking towards her. "You have to bang him at least once while you can. Trust me on this."

"You should never trust anyone who says 'trust me'," Kitty said with a giggle.

"Actually, I recommend the opposite," said Jean, and checked off named on her fingers. "Let's see, he's slept with Andrea, Joanna, Callisto... I believe he also slept with Genevieve—"

"Yeah, he did," Candy said with a nod, "and Katrina."

"Nooo," Jean said, staring at her. "He didn't!"

"He did!"

"I knew they dated, but Katrina was super-religious."

"I guess he couldn't resist the Catholic school girl thing," Andrea said maliciously. "Well, well, well..."

"Shut it, Andrea," Candy glared at her, then she turned back to Jean. "It was her idea."

"No way was it her idea," Jean was shaking her head. "Remy must have conned her."

"Katrina swears that he didn't. And believe me, I asked. I thought the same thing," Candy insisted. "But no, she told me that he was very respectful of her beliefs and didn't push her at all. He even reminded her that she didn't believe in pre-marital sex when she brought it up."

"I don't believe a word of it," Joanne said scornfully.

"I don't care what you believe," Candy replied in dismissal.

"I'm not even sure I believe it," Jean said. "I mean, we're talking about the girl who was seriously considering becoming a nun for God's...umm...for goodness sake. I was surprised she and Remy even dated."

"Well, they did and they _did_," said Candy, "just saying."

"Okay, so that's four—five—girls he's slept with just at this school," Jean said. "Remy's what? Sixteen? Sixteen and he's already slept with five different girls, and those are the ones we know about. He's a slut. He's a slutty-slutty-slut-slut, and sooner or later he's going to get herpes or HIV or Chlamydia or something, or get his latest 'not-girlfriend' pregnant—"

"I disagree," said Andrea. "He's practically fanatical about protection. It's almost a turn off. He won't even finger me without wearing gloves."

She pouted while the rest of the girls turned up their noses at the mental image that provoked. Meanwhile, at the back of the room, Wanda happily typed in "slutty-slutty-slut-slut" into the chat room she was in with Remy and John on her laptop. Although things had been rigged so Remy and John could see and hear the movie, and see the girls, they would only be able to hear the girls if they were loud. Wanda was taking great delight in transcribing the meaty bits.

**Pyro: **Do you think Jean thinks you're a slut, Remy?

**Gambit: **The thought has crossed my mind.

**Scarlet Witch:** And now Andrea is bitching about you having the audacity to use protection.

**Gambit: **She always bitches about that

**Gambit: **then she wonders why I avoid sleeping with her

**Scarlet Witch: **Wait, you avoid her?

**Scarlet Witch: **Hahaha the way she carries on anyone would think you can't stay away from each other

**Gambit: **Hey, Someone that lax about using protection probably has herpes or something

"What are you doing over there, Wanda?" Lila asked, grateful for a reason to change the subject.

"Something far more interesting that participating in your pathetic gossip," Wanda replied. "Are we actually going to watch another movie? Or are you more interested in getting your sex education from someone so dismissive of using protection she probably has herpes?"

"Hey!" Andrea objected.

"Woohoo, go Wanda," Alison said, grinning.

"I agree," said Jean, standing up. "Let's put on the next movie."

Jean slipped in a new DVD and once the lights were turned off, Marie hid the remote. Wanda advised the boys that everything was in readiness.

**Pryo: **Why oh why are we watching this piece of crap?

**Gambit: **We're pulling a prank

**Pyro: **My little toe could write a better story than this.

**Gambit: **You don't have to "watch it" watch it.

**Gambit: **We are looking for good places to interrupt it

**Pyro: **How about right at the beginning before we even see the opening credits?

**Scarlet Witch: **Sounds like a good time to me

**Gambit: **We need to lure them into a false sense of security

**Gambit: **Or at the very least, wait until they're invested into the movie enough that the interruption occurs at the most devastating moment

**Pyro: **But that's just the thing. You can't possibly invest yourself in a crappy story like this

**Pyro: **Unrealistic characters

**Scarlet Witch: **Stupid "self worth" themes every single time

**Pyro: **Men being made out to be complete and utter idiots

**Scarlet Witch: **Fate and True Love and a downpour of other lovey-dovey crappola

**Gambit: **Wow okay so first: you two deserve each other

**Gambit: **Just saying

**Gambit: **Second, it's a movie. They're all unrealistic.

**Pyro: **Not so! All stories may be based on an unrealistic premise

**Pyro: **It's how the characters react to the situation that makes it realistic

**Scarlet Witch: **Exactly

**Scarlet Witch: **You can't suspend your sense of disbelief if the characters don't behave realistically

**Scarlet Witch: **Ergo no immersion

**Gambit: **Just humor me OK?

After what seemed like way too long, the lead characters looked deeply into each others eyes and leaned towards each other. The music swept up, and just before they were about to kiss...

"Omigod!"

"Ewwwwwwwwwwwww!"

"That's disgusting!"

"What the hell?"

In their room, Remy and John cracked up laughing as they watched the girls react, some of them loud enough to be picked up on the microphone on Wanda's webcam. It was dark, but there was enough light from the TV for them to make out seeing one of the girls stand up with her hands to her face and making jerking movements as if she was trying to stop herself from throwing up. There was screeching of horror and a couple of them began laughing out of a nervous reaction rather than thinking it was actually funny.

"No! She ate it!"

"I'm gonna be sick."

Abruptly the lounge door opened and someone appeared in silhouette in the doorway. Remy took that as his cue to switch the movie back.

"What in the world is going on here?" Agatha demanded.

What Agatha heard was a chaotic jumble of explanations, none of which made any sense, just a lot of complaints about the movie switching to something gross and how one of them just threw up in her mouth. The more Agatha heard, the deeper she frowned. She looked at the TV and saw a perfectly innocent movie playing.

"That's enough nonsense," she said. "I don't know what you're complaining about, but if you can't keep it quiet then you're all going to have to go to bed, and we definitely won't be doing any more sleepovers. Is that clear?"

Agatha left and Marie quickly retrieved the remote before the lights could be turned back on. The girls all took a few minutes to get over the shock, and in Amanda's case, wash her mouth out.


	15. Band Aids

**Chapter 15: ****Band Aids**

"It was the most feral, awful, disgusting thing ever," Jean told Warren and Kurt at Monday's gym class.

"Sounds like it," Kurt said sympathetically. "What do you suppose happened?"

"I think it's pretty obvious," Kitty said. "We got pranked, and it was probably Remy behind it. I don't know anyone else who would have had the technical expertise to pull it off."

"With Marie's help most likely," Jean nodded in agreement, "maybe John too."

"And probably Wanda," Kitty added. "She and Marie are close, and she spent most of the night on the computer, remember?"

"That's right," Jean said with a nod.

"They did do the smoke bombs," Kitty continued, "so this wouldn't be much of a stretch."

"That's true," Kurt agreed.

The conversation got no further for Logan interrupted them holding a dodgeball in his hands.

"Dodgeball," he proceeded to explain the rules before splitting them up to practice against each other.

"Excuse me, Coach?" said Tabitha. "When do we play against the Brotherhood?"

"Our first game is Friday," Logan replied, "but today, tomorrow, and Thursday are all about practise. I want to see you guys making some good throws and practising your dodging skills. This is all about agility. Head shots are forbidden. You make a head shot, you get detention."

* * *

"Definitely need to get them back," Jamie said eagerly at lunch. "Pete and I tried with the whole talcum powdering the room thing on Saturday—"

"You did what now?" Kurt asked, not realising the shy Piotr would pull pranks with the exuberant Jamie. He figured Piotr helping them out with the prank where they threw the buckets of water over John was just an exercise in being more assertive.

Jamie explained what they did and added, "It worked with everyone's room except for Remy's. When we tried his room, it just blew in our faces."

"It was not a pleasant experience," Piotr added.

"Aww," Kitty said sympathetically, patting his shoulder.

"He must have anticipated someone trying that prank on him," Jamie went on. "I guess it makes sense; he did it to all of us freshmen last year."

"I remember," Scott said with a nod.

"Then we need to get him back, and get him back good," Jean said. "We're playing dodgeball for the next two weeks, I say, we all aim for him as our primary target."

"Who are you and what have you done with Jean?" David asked. "I've never known you to be vindictive before."

"That's just because you haven't seen her dark side," Scott added ominously, "until now."

"I dunno," Kurt said. "That's not much of a prank."

"Yeah, I agree," said Jamie. "Prankless revenge isn't any fun."

"You can pull pranks if you want," Jean said, "but Remy is good at playing pranks, and you said so yourself, he's anticipated yours. This is something he can't—not forever anyway. Besides, Remy's good at dodgeball."

"Remy's good at gym class, period," Kitty then added with a giggle, "We should target him at his weak spot: English."

"Please, I beat him at English all the time," Jean said.

"Well, I know one thing," said Jason. "We single out Remy, that's bound to make Coach a very happy man."

* * *

Friday arrived, and with it, the first of the five dodgeball competitions between the X-Men and the Brotherhood. Remy was rather suspicious of the way the X-Men kept eyeing him.

"Alright maggots," said Victor. "You know the rules. If the ball hits you, you're out. If you catch the ball properly, the thrower is out and you get to bring a teammate back onto the court. Throw a headshot, you're out, and you get detention as a bonus. Game ends when one team has no players left on the court, or at the end of class, at which case the team with the most players wins."

"Maximum number of players is ten," Logan said, addressing this more to his X-Men than the Brotherhood. "That means that at least one of you X-Men will be sitting out. If the number on the court is nine or less, and someone catches a ball, you can pick any of the players sitting out to come on. Smith, you're sitting out for now."

Tabitha grumbled at that, but she sat on the bleachers while the rest of the class made their way to their sides of the court to get into position. Logan and Victor picked up the three balls and tossed them into the court. The closest players snatched them up and passed them back, with the X-Men succeeded in catching two of the balls. The game began.

It quickly became evident to the Brotherhood that Remy was being targeted, mostly because every time the X-Men got a ball, they threw it at him. Fred happily took advantage of this and stayed as far away from Remy as he could (he hated dodgeball). At first Remy thought it was funny and enjoyed the challenge to dodge and catch so often, especially when he had opportunities to flip onto his hands and catch balls with his legs, but it quickly became irritating. He was relieved when Marie, Pietro. Wanda, and John put themselves in between him and the X-Men, so that the X-Men would be forced to go through them to get to him. John got hit quickly, sports had never been his forte but Remy got the idea the guy preferred to set this particular game out. Pietro was quick on his feet, Wanda had a habit of just missing the ball and being able to catch some throws that should have been hits, and Marie was just plain good. Callisto was also pretty good at the game, but saw no reason why she should deliberately put herself in harm's way.

Still it was only a matter of time before Remy got hit and it was actually with some relief that he made his way off the court, sweating profusely. It had definitely been a work out. With Remy off the court, the X-Men were less organised in who they targeted. While Remy had been on the court, the Brotherhood had targeted whoever they could get. Now that he wasn't, they aimed for the better players: Kurt and Kitty, who were probably the best dodgers on the team, and Scott and Jean, who was not only uncannily accurate but also had a habit of being able to hit multiple targets with one throw.

When the Brotherhood had the chance to bring back players onto the court, they opted to leave Remy where he was. This both relieved and annoyed him.

The X-Men won.

* * *

Logan got the distinct impression from the way his daughter was banging things and stomping around their house later that evening that Marie was in a bad mood. He hesitated about broaching the subject but finally gave him when he just couldn't handle the noise any longer.

"Annoyed about something?" he asked her.

Marie's eyes blazed with fury.

"Annoyed? Annoyed?" she repeated. "Me? Why would I possibly be annoyed? It's not like you told your team to deliberately target Remy during Dodgeball today or anything."

"No, I didn't," Logan replied evenly. "So it must be something else that's got your goat."

"Oh right," Marie retorted hotly, banging her dirty glass down on the kitchen bench so hard Logan thought she might have cracked it, "because after offering everyone a reward if they beat Remy at the obstacle course, I couldn't possibly have any reason to believe that you wouldn't do that again."

"The obstacle course is an individual event," Logan replied firmly. "Dodgeball is a team sport and this is a school, not a professional team. It would be highly irresponsible of me to encourage anyone to gang up on an individual like that, even in terms of tactics, no matter how much I might not like him."

"You'll excuse me if I don't believe you," Marie stormed off to her room.

* * *

"Guys, really," Remy said the following day while playing a game of pool with John, Wanda, and Marie in the recreation room, "I am not made of glass. I'm fine."

"Yeah, but come on, that was so rude," Wanda insisted while John leaned over the pool table, cue in hand. "We've never ganged up on them before."

"Then maybe we should," Remy replied with a shrug. "I think Jean was the one who knocked me out in the end. We should aim for her."

There was a thunk as the cue ball whacked one of the coloured balls into the corner pocket.

"Oh, and I know you guys thought you were doing me a favour by not bringing me back onto the court, but if they do that again, just make sure I've had a rest and then feel free to invite me back in," Remy went on while John lined up his next shot. "I'm sure there's a way to use their single-mindedness against them."

"Of course," said Marie snapping her fingers. "When they're aiming for you, they're not aiming for the rest of us. Maybe instead of aiming for Jean, we aim for their weaker players first and for the ones more likely to dodge than catch, like Kitty and Kurt."

"Better yet, aim for the ones who have balls in their possessions," said Remy. "We know they're aiming for me, so their attention is going to be on me. Trust me, it's very difficult to try and keep an eye on all three balls at once."

* * *

Before the match on Monday, Logan had a quick word with his team. He wasn't going to tell them not to gang up on Remy again but neither was he going to encourage it.

"Remember, there are other people on the team," he told them. "And if you concentrate on just one person, it's easy to exhaust them. This is a game, not a war. We don't want anyone to get hurt."

His words didn't entirely fall on deaf ears as some of the more sensitive took his words to heart. Others dismissed the notion. They succeeded in getting Remy out last time, he was unhurt, and the Brotherhood didn't bring him back on the court. Clearly there was nothing to worry about.

The game began, and although Logan was initially annoyed that Remy was targeted straight off, he was relieved to find that at least some of his team had taken his comments seriously and were aiming for other members of the Brotherhood while Remy was on the court. Nevertheless, Remy still had his work cut out for him.

Aiming specifically for X-Men who had balls in their possession made a big difference in how the Brotherhood played, but it wasn't quite good enough to win them the game. The X-Men won again, much to Victor's irritation.

* * *

Marie, Wanda and Callisto faced off against Jean, Kitty, Tabitha, and Jubilee on Tuesdays match. By some coincidence, all the boys had gotten hit and sent off the court.

"Woohoo, cat fight!" Bobby yelled.

The girls ignored him and concentrated on their game. Marie, Wanda, and Jean had the balls. By unspoken agreement, Marie and Wanda aimed for Tabitha and Jubilee respectively, while Jean aimed for Marie. Marie's ball just scraped Tabitha and for a moment she hoped it hadn't been noticed, but it had, Logan sent her off. Jubilee dodged Wanda's ball, as did Kitty. Marie dodged Jean's ball but barely as she had been concentrating on her own shot at the time.

Callisto, Kitty, and Jubilee had the balls then and in succession Wanda dodged while Jubilee and Callisto got hit. Jubilee and Callisto reluctantly joined their teammates, leaving Wanda and Marie to face off against Kitty and Jean.

For the next few rounds, all four girls successfully dodged each other. Then Wanda and Kitty threw their balls at each other while Jean aimed for Marie. Wanda's ball clipped Kitty and at the same time, Wanda also managed to catch Kitty's ball, doubly sending her out. Marie dodged Jean's ball and caught it on the rebound while Jean scampered to grab the ball on her side of the court.

Wanda and Marie threw their balls at Jean together, from different sides of the court, while Jean aimed her ball for Marie again. Although Jean succeeded in dodging both balls, Marie caught Jean's ball easily. She smiled and held it up in triumph.

The Brotherhood had won.

* * *

Come Thursday's gym class, Remy had become an old pro at dodging and catching in style. The Brotherhood's side of the court had become a circus of acrobatic feats and Kurt, who was just as acrobatic, was in awe of Remy's daring in doing such things during a dodgeball game, where he not only had balls to look out for, but also teammates.

The teams were down to five and five, Marie was on the sidelines when it happened. A ball came flying towards Remy, which he dodged by leaning to the side. He leaned far enough that not only did the ball miss him but Remy used his momentum to do a handstand on one hand. Unfortunately, he had not long flipped his legs up in the air when a second dodgeball whacked him in the back of the head. Remy toppled forward and fell flat on his face.

"Remy!" Marie exclaimed the same moment Logan yelled, "Time out!"

Marie ran over to Remy, who wasn't moving. Victor also joined them as the rest of the Brotherhood on the court backed off. There was silence.

"LeBeau," Victor said, frowning down at his star student.

Remy groaned lightly and rolled himself over, he could literally feel the kinetic energy from the fall thrumming through his body.

"Remy? Are you okay?" Marie asked anxiously as Victor looked down on them.

Remy slowly sat himself up and fought back the wave of nausea.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said.

"Bullshit," Victor glanced over at Fred, then Logan, then lastly at Marie. "Marie, take him down to sick bay."

"I'm fine, really," Remy insisted.

He stood, refusing to accept Marie's help, but everyone saw him sway on his feet.

"Sure you are," Victor said cynically. "Sick bay. Now. That's an order, LeBeau."

"Fine," Remy said, starting towards to the door, determined to keep up a normal stride and refusing to allow Marie to help steady him.

"Skunkhead," Victor called after them, "if he throws up on the way there, tell him 'I told you so'."

He didn't wait for a response and he got none. He hated to lose one of his best players to such a task but since it was Marie and Remy, it meant he could tease Logan later about Marie playing 'nurse'. Victor turned his attention to Scott, who had been the one to throw the ball, and was standing in the middle of the X-Men's side of court looking somewhat distressed and uncomfortable.

"You," Victor said with a growl. "What part of 'no head shots' don't you understand?"

"Hey," Logan said, standing between them with a glare at Victor. "That's my student, not yours. You have no authority over him."

"Fine. Then you give him detention."

"Oh, I don't know about that," Logan replied, not because he condoned what had happened, but because he resented Victor stepping in on his territory. "LeBeau was clowning around. If he'd bothered to stay on his feet instead of showing off, he wouldn't have been hurt. That wasn't a head shot. That was a leg shot."

"LeBeau was not clowning around—"

"Sure looked like it to me."

"—he's a talented player who has figured out how to streamline his moves to conserve his energy," Victor insisted. "Endurance. You may have heard of it."

"Stupidity," Logan snapped back. "You may have heard of _that_. Doing handstands in dodgeball is the height of it. You should have put a stop to it in the beginning. My kids should not be forced to anticipate every time he's going to flip himself on his head."

"Why not? Are they that incompetent?"

"That throw was too low for any sane person to consider it a real head shot—"

"It hit him in the head. Looked pretty real to me—"

"It was an accidental head shot, not a deliberate one. I don't believe in penalising my student for an accident. Especially one that could have been avoided if LeBeau hadn't been showing off in the first place!"

"Excuse me, sirs," Scott said, working up the nerve to approach the two mad bulls that were their coaches. "I take responsibility for what happened. Even though I honestly was not aiming for Remy's head, I'm fully prepared to face the consequences, including the detention in question."

Everyone looked at Scott, then the students looked anxiously back at their coaches.

"Good," Victor said with a growl in his tone before turning his back on the X-Men.

Logan clapped his hand on Scott's shoulder and gave him a nod.

"You're a good kid, Summers," he said. "Alright, onto the bench with you for the rest of the game."

The game resumed but it was quiet and tense.

The X-Men won, it didn't feel like much of a victory.

* * *

Scott stopped by Marie's table at lunch and ignored the frosty reception to inquire how Remy was going.

"Mild concussion. He'll be right as rain in twenty-four hours. Dr McCoy sent him back to the dorms to rest. He wasn't happy about it but..." Marie shrugged, "he'll be fine."

"Okay, good. Thank you," he replied.

* * *

Remy was noticeable by his absence at Friday's gym class. It was their last dodgeball session and although Remy was recovered and didn't need to be watched, Dr McCoy recommended he had the day off from school all the same. By way of compensation for the uneven teams, the X-Men were to have no more than nine members on the court at once. Scott volunteered to stay out for the entirety of the game.

"It's only fair," he insisted. "They're short one of their best players, so we should be short one of ours."

His teammates were none too happy, nor was Logan, but Scott stood by his decision. The Brotherhood, on the other hand, had gotten over their shock and worry and was out for vengeance in the form of victory. As far as the tournament was concerned, the X-Men had already won three out of five games and therefore had already won overall, that didn't matter to the Brotherhood. They were not going to just roll over and they certainly weren't going to let the injury to their teammate and friend go unpunished (the fact that Scott had done his detention the evening before and had been sitting out ever since was completely beside the point).

The balls were tossed towards the centre line, signalling the beginning of the game. The Brotherhood got two of the three, and Wanda was able to hit Bobby with her first shot. That first win seemed to set the tone of the game, the Brotherhood were on fire. Though the X-Men did their best to send the Brotherhood out, the Brotherhood succeeding catching balls left, right, and centre. In turn the X-Men were having very little success in bringing their own members back onto the court.

Jamie threw his ball at Todd and knocked him out. As it bounced off the back wall and Marie dashed off to retrieve it, Jamie realised that the Brotherhood had control of all three balls. He looked at each side of the court and discovered that he was the last of the X-Men.

"Man, I wish there was more of me right now," Jamie said.

Marie, Wanda, and Lance threw their balls towards him. Jamie tried to dodge and catch at least one of them, but only ended up getting himself hit in the process.

"Madrox, you're out," Logan announced.

"Brotherhood wins," Victor said with a smirk in his voice.

The Brotherhood cheered.


	16. Like Father Like Son

**Chapter 16: ****Like Father, Like Son**

Logan opened up the front door to find Victor and Remy on his doorstep. He gritted his teeth and reluctantly called for Marie. He didn't like this and he had half a mind to forbid the whole thing, but he was pretty sure that would win him no points with his daughter. Logan was also reasonably confident that Victor wouldn't let anything happen to Marie. Despite their rivalry, even Victor had some standards on how far he would go to provoke him. If nothing else, taking a couple of students out for a late night and getting them hurt could cost Victor his job.

"How's the head?" Logan asked Remy as they waited.

"Much better," Remy replied. "Like it never happened."

"Good to know,"

"Hi," Marie said as she got to the door.

"Have a good time, darlin'," Logan said, giving her a nod.

"I'll try," she replied with a slight smile.

"I know I will," Victor said with smug malice in his voice. "Shall I tell Graydon his _uncle_ says hi?"

"Like Graydon is really going to give a rat's rear," Logan retorted.

Victor chuckled and he, Marie, and Remy soon departed in Victor's pickup. Marie sat in the middle and Remy took her hand as soon as they were settled.

"You will never guess who apologised to me today," Remy said once they were well on their way.

"Scott?" Marie asked.

"Nah, he apologised yesterday. Jean."

"Jean?" Marie repeated in surprise. "Why? Scott was the one who threw the ball."

"Apparently targeting me was all her idea. She was mad about the slumber party prank and got this crazy idea that I was behind it," Remy said with a grin.

"Wow. I never saw her for the vindictive type."

"She didn't either," Remy said and put on a melodramatic effeminate voice: "I don't know what came over me. It was like I was this whole different person."

Marie giggled.

"I'd better not hear about any of you kids apologising to _them_," Victor said. "This is war, not a damn quilting club. Targeting you won those bastards games and you don't apologise for good tactics just 'cause you got the enemy hurt. You got that?"

"Absolument," Remy said the same time Marie replied with, "Uhh, yes Coach."

"Good."

Most of the drive to the concert was in silence. Remy and Marie then had to listen to Victor grouch as he tried to find a parking spot, then there was more muttering as the three joined the very long queue. Remy and Marie decided it was probably wisest if they didn't say anything.

It felt like forever before the line finally started moving and they all headed inside, got their tickets checked, and located their seats. This was followed by more waiting until the concert was even ready to start.

Neither Marie nor Remy had heard of the opening band and neither did they have much luck deciphering the lyrics of their songs. The rest of the crowd seemed to like them enough. They played a couple of sets, left the stage, and then at last, the Friends of Humanity took to the stage. The crowd was so loud cheering their excitement, Marie thought her ear drums might burst. The house was packed so she guessed the band must be doing something right to be so popular even though she knew of only one person, in Westchester and in Mississippi, who liked them.

Marie saw Graydon Creed on the screens rather than looking at him directly on the stage. She struggled to see much of a resemblance to Victor, but perhaps he took after his mother, or maybe she just wasn't close enough to really see anything. Marie wondered who Graydon's mother was and the thought popped into her head once again that maybe it was Raven, but only because of how Graydon had come up in conversation that Christmas. Once again, Marie dismissed the idea. Surely if Graydon was her half brother, someone would have said so by now.

* * *

Marie stifled a yawn as she walked down the hallways backstage after the concert. Remy noticed anyway and grinned at her. She poked her tongue out at him in response. Shortly, the member of staff they had been following stopped outside of a door and let them in.

The first thing Marie noticed was that the Friends of Humanity were quite fond of their groupies. The boys were scattered around the room, talking to scantily clad young women who would likely go home very excited that they'd gotten fondled by their favourite. The room was a little small for the number of people in it, but it wasn't cramped.

The second thing Marie noticed was Graydon noticed them.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Graydon demanded.

The room went silent as Graydon stepped forward and glared at Victor. Victor smirking back at him. Now that they were together, Marie could see that they were actually quite similar with the same body shape, although Victor was more muscular. Their faces could have been mirror images of each other, except Victor had long blond hair and Graydon's was short and brown. They had the exact same eyes, the same stance.

"I just thought I'd drop by and see how my baby boy is doing," Victor replied, malice sparkling in his eyes.

"I'm not your—" Graydon began.

"And I thought it was about time you met your sister, Anna Marie."

The colour drained from Marie's face and Remy squeezed her hand. Graydon turned his piercing gaze on her, looking her up and down. She cleared her throat and held out her hand.

"A pleasure to finally meet you," she said all the while inwardly freaking out and cursing all those involved in deceiving her.

Graydon spat at her. In an instant, Remy was between Marie and Graydon.

"Now that is no way to treat a lady," Remy said firmly while Marie flicked the glob of spit from her eye.

"Lady?" Graydon repeated with a mocking laugh. "Please. She's fucking Raven's daughter. There's no fucking way she's a _lady._"

Marie pressed her lips together and forgot all about the wet that was now on the finger of her glove, courtesy of Graydon's spit. She was so sick and tired of people harassing her mother and making her out to be the worst kind of slut.

"She could be a 'lady of the night'," the drummer joked from his corner of the room.

"Like mother, like daughter, is that what you're saying?" Marie asked, seething as she stepped back into Graydon's line of sight. "Then you must be just like your father."

Graydon's faced darkened with rage.

"I'm nothing fucking like—" he began as his fist swung towards her.

Marie caught his fist just inches away from his face. Remy, who had moved to intervene once again, raised his eyebrows at the sight. He hadn't expected her to be that quick or skilled.

"Doesn't look like it to me, chowder-head," Marie retorted, throwing Graydon's arm away from her.

"Oh look," Victor said smugly, "the sibling rivalry's started already."

Graydon turned on Victor. "Get the fuck out."

Victor gave Graydon a toothy grin. "Make me."

Marie would have expected such words to be followed up by a call for security. She did not expect for Graydon to take a swing at his father, nor for the two to descend into an outright brawl. She stood back quickly with Remy and watched on, noting a few people using their camera phones to record the fight. While it was obvious that Graydon was no stranger to fighting, it was also obvious that he didn't have his father's training and experience. As soon as they realised the fight was not going in Graydon's favour, one of the crowd did in fact, call security.

* * *

Logan was waiting for Marie when she returned home. They looked at each other for a long moment after the door closed behind her.

"How'd it go?" he asked finally, expecting the worst.

"I'm sure I would have enjoyed the concert more if I actually liked the band," Marie replied, stalking over to him. "As for meeting my _cousin_ backstage... well, I'm sure that would have gone better if Graydon and Uncle Victor hadn't decided to get into a fight, followed by a trip outside courtesy of the arena's security force."

"Heh, Victor being thrown out by security," Logan mused over his cup of coffee. "I would have liked to have seen that."

"Oh, you probably can see part of it," Marie replied irritably. "There were enough people filming. Someone will have something posted on YouTube by morning no doubt."

Logan grunted.

"So _Dad_," Marie went on coldly. "Why the hell didn't you tell me that Graydon was my brother?"

Logan was silent for a long moment.

"Because," he said finally and there was something in his voice and eyes that gave Marie the impression what he was about to say was physically painful for him, "I used to think he was mine."

Marie sat down in silence, her mind processing the implications of that statement. Logan looked down into his coffee.

"It was a mistake, right?" Marie asked finally, not really wanting to think about the fact that her mother would have had to have been sleeping with both Logan and Victor around the same period of time for Logan to believe such a thing.

"Your mother knew Graydon wasn't mine from the beginning," Logan said. "She also knew that, unlike Victor, I would actually take responsibility for fathering a child on her and help support them. I didn't find out the truth until she was pregnant with you."

Marie didn't reply. What she was hearing made her feel sick to the stomach.

"Stupid me actually forgave her for it, believed her when she said she wouldn't cheat on me again," Logan went on bitterly. "And then when you were a year old she announced she was pregnant by some other man... I was so angry... so betrayed, again... I asked for a divorce. She just looked at me like I asking if she wanted takeout for dinner and said okay," he sank into his seat. "Next thing I know, she took off with you and Graydon. When I caught back up with her at Irene's she already had the baby and said her sons were with their fathers. I never saw Graydon again after that, although I think Victor must have taken some kind of responsibility for him since Graydon hates him so much now. As for your other half-brother, from what I could gather from Irene, the boy was better off with his father, I gather he was rich or something. Why Raven didn't stay with the father... I dunno..."

Another silence followed while Marie tried to digest this.

"Look," Logan said, "I know you don't like hearing bad things about your mother, but—"

"No," Marie interrupted tersely, her eyes flashing angrily, "I don't like hearing people bad mouth her all the time. People do bad things sometimes, I get that, but you been calling her a whore, a _slut_, and telling me you don't want me to end up like her. She's always been this smart, strong, independent woman, who doesn't take crap from anyone. Why wouldn't I want to be like her? Tell me that!"

Logan was silent.

"I never saw this other side of her. She didn't bring men home or anything," Marie went on, tears starting to well up in her eyes despite her struggle to stop them. "But that's all I've heard about since she left! You, Uncle Victor, and now Graydon? I'm trying really hard to deal with the fact that I have brothers I never knew about, a brother she left me for! I don't need to listen to you talk about her like she's the devil incarnate!"

Logan slid his mug onto the coffee table.

"Yeah, I guess I probably have come across as the bitter ex," he said slowly. "And you're right. Your mother is all those things, smart, strong, independent, and very beautiful."

Marie sniffed.

"And I see a lot of her in you," Logan added.

"Is that why you were never around?" Marie asked.

"I was never around because going to Caldecott meant I had to see your mother," Logan replied, "and I find even thinking about her to be... more painful than I can express."

Marie was silent for a moment before saying, "You loved her very much, didn't you?"

"I did." Logan closed his eyes. "I did but she played me for a fool. She cheated on me for the entirety of our relationship, didn't have the decency to tell me she felt there was problems, simply spent her time in another man's arms. She... she lied to me about Graydon for years."

"That's why Uncle Victor kept calling Graydon my cousin, isn't it?" Marie asked. "He was just rubbing it in."

Logan nodded.

"Man, he's an asshole," Marie muttered. "I can see where Graydon gets it."

Logan chuckled wryly. Then he reached over and took her hand.

"Anna, I know you love your mother, and I don't want to change that, I just want you to see her for who she is, all of her, good and bad."

"No rose-coloured glasses, huh?"

"No rose-coloured glasses and... I'll try not to bad mouth her anymore."

* * *

"So what you're saying is," Wanda said as she and Marie rode down the trail on their horses, side by side, "the guy who complains all the time that his father is an asshole and his mother is a whore, is a whoring asshole?"

"Yeah, exactly," Marie replied. "Ugh, I still can't believe the little snot is my big brother."

"Half-big-brother," Wanda said firmly. "That 'half' part is very important, _especially_, when you don't like them."

"Heh."

"I'm serious," Wanda insisted. "I have two half sisters, Lorna and Zala."

"Zala?" Marie repeated, brushing a light branch away with her so that the leaves didn't slap her in the face as she rode past. "What kind of name is that?"

"Take it up with her mother. They're both little brats," Wanda said. "Lorna is such a daddy's girl and Zala's just plain spoiled. She goes around dressed up like a fairy princess all the time and acts like she's the queen of the world or something."

"How old is she?"

"Ten."

"If I say she'll grow out of it, will you smack me?"

"Yes."

"My lips are sealed."

Wanda snorted inelegantly and they continued riding.

"Lorna's going to be coming here next year," Wanda said. "Really, really hoping I don't end up stuck in any classes with her."

"Yeah," Marie said. "I can't even begin to imagine what it would have been like growing up with Graydon, or this little brother of mine. Half-little-brother."

"Here's hoping my father and your mother don't meet," Wanda declared cynically. "She can't keep her legs shut and he can't keep it in his pants, been married three times! Odds are we'll end up sharing a half-sibling."

Marie blanched. "We certainly can't have that!"

* * *

As Cameron was one of the day students, Marie didn't expect to see him over the weekend. She was therefore most surprised when she and Wanda finished stabling the horses after their ride to find Cameron waiting with Remy and John.

"Oh hey, Cameron," she said as she and Wanda joined the boys. "Didn't expect to see you today. I'm sorry, I didn't get that CD signed for you."

"Yeah, I know," Cameron replied with a wave of his hand. "Remy told me, and someone uploaded a video of what happened backstage."

"Ahh."

"Dude, I can't believe Graydon's your brother," Cameron went on excitedly. "I thought you said he was your cousin."

"That's what I thought too," Marie replied and shook her head. "It's a long, complicated story. I'd almost feel sorry for Graydon, except he's a brat, and I hope I never see the little turd again."

"Uhh, right so..." Cameron said with just a hint of awkwardness before barrelling on with, "have you still got your gloves from last night?"

"My gloves?" Marie asked with a blink. "Yeah..."

"You haven't washed them or anything, have you?"

"No." She was about to ask why, when it clicked for her: she'd wiped off Gradon's spit from her eye with them. "You want them, huh?"

"If it's not too much trouble," Cameron said eagerly.

Remy hid his laughter behind his hand. Wanda rolled her eyes. John snickered loudly.

"Well, I have to go back home anyway to get your CD," Marie replied drolly.

"Yes! Thank you, Marie. You're the best!"

* * *

**AN:**

Not sure which issue of the comics it was but Zaladane (Savage Land priestess, for those of you who haven't read the comics but did see the 90's cartoon) once claimed to be Lorna's sister "Zala Dane". There hasn't been any follow up to this and well, Zaladane_ is _a villain so she could have been lying.


	17. The Fighter

**Chapter 17: ****The Fighter**

Victor stood on the blue mat in the gymnasium, his team sitting around the edge.

"Alright maggots," he said. "For the next few weeks we'll be learning self defence. The last week we'll be facing off against the X-Men and by the time I'm through with you, you're going to know exactly how to whoop their pansy asses."

"I thought this was self-defence," Remy said cheekily, holding his hand up partially in the air.

"Best defence is a good offence." Victor turned a glare on Remy. "Now, first I'm going to need a volunteer..."

It annoyed Victor that Remy shifted his position as if he was expecting to be called up. Then Victor realised that he'd gotten into the habit of calling Remy up for demonstrations ever since he found out that the teenager actually knew Savate and was pretty good. Victor paused, glanced over at Logan, and then gave Marie a toothy grin.

"Skunkhead, up here," he said, pleased at being able to get the better of Remy. That cocky kid needed to be put in his place every now and then, good athlete or not.

Marie cleared her throat and stepped up onto the mat. She listened attentively and nervously as Victor explained a few basics.

"Alright, Skunkhead," Victor said, turning his attention back to his niece. "Come at me as if you're going to attack me with a knife or something."

"If you insist," Marie replied.

She held up her hand as if she was holding a knife, intending to stab her coach. Victor began to block, which Marie expected. To the surprise of everyone watching, she ducked away from the block and 'stabbed' Victor in the side.

The look Victor gave her clearly said he hadn't expected her to get under his guard at all. Marie didn't pause, instead she used Victor's moment of shock to press her advantage and 'stabbed' him a second time.

Victor switched back into the game before she got a third one in and she not only managed block his attack, but she also used his strength and momentum against him and sent him crashing down to the mat. Marie felt everyone's eyes on her, including those from the X-Men's side of the hall. She looked down at Victor, refusing to allow herself to be distracted.

"Your daddy teach you that?" Victor asked from the floor, sending her a hard glare.

"My father was not around nearly enough to teach me much of anything," Marie replied haughtily. "I learned this from my mother."

A toothy grin spread across Victor's face. There were a few things he would have loved to have replied with, all of them being highly inappropriate for him to say to one of his students.

"Yeah?" Victor pushed himself up from the ground. "Let's see what else Raven taught you."

Remy watched in fascination as Marie and Victor sparred. It was clear from the grace with which she moved that Marie had years of training behind her. He only knew one other girl who could make a fight look so beautiful. The rest of the world seemed to fade into obscurity; only Marie and her graceful, vicious dance existed.

Then Victor pinned Marie to the mat and Remy was brought back to reality. After a three-count to seal his victory, Victor let Marie up.

"You'll do," Victor said, turning back to the class to continue the lesson proper.

* * *

Marie was on her way to her next class after gym when she felt a hand slide around her waist. She turned her head just long enough to smile at Remy who pressed her up against the wall, kissing her hard. She was somewhat taken aback at this sudden show of affection; he didn't normally kiss her like this during school hours unless they were at lunch or in gym behind Victor's back. She was also more used to his kisses being sweeter and gentler.

He brushed her nose with his as he broke off the kiss.

"Poker, martial arts, general sexy southern sassiness," he said. "You are a little rogue, aren't you?"

Marie gave a short, nervous laugh.

"You like what you see, Cajun?" she asked saucily.

"Very much," his voice was low and husky.

"Ahem," Logan said from the doorway, his arms folded as he glared at them. "Don't you two have classes to be getting to?"

Remy pulled further away, although he kept his eyes on Marie rather than looking at Logan.

"See you at lunch, Rogue," Remy said.

He waved to her with his fingers and continued on his way down the hallway. Marie darted a look at her father.

"Your mama kicks ass too," Logan said.

Marie grinned as Logan turned and headed back into the gym.

* * *

"Everyone," Remy said as he sat down next to Marie at their usual table for lunch, "I'd like to introduce you to Rogue—"

"Rogue?" Marie repeated, cocking an eyebrow at him. "You've just decided that I need a new name?"

"Oui," Remy set his lunch down on the table. "Rogue suits you so much better than Marie. Just like Pyro suits Pyro way better than John."

"Hear, hear," said John, raising his can of drink.

"See?" Remy quickly stole a kiss from Marie's lips before attending to his lunch. "Pyro agrees. It's all settled."

"Maybe I don't agree," said Wanda. "Maybe I prefer to call Marie 'Marie'."

"You don't count," Remy replied, waving a hand at her. "You always call Pyro 'John' like you've got a crush on him or something."

John suddenly became very interested in his lunch as Wanda glared at Remy. Remy grinned winningly back at her.

"Well," Marie said, deciding to be nice and take the heat off her friend. "I guess there are worse nicknames than 'Rogue'."

"I'm glad you approve," Remy replied, sliding his hand onto her knee, "'cause I was going to keep calling you that anyway."

"Nice to know I had a choice in the matter."

* * *

Their gym classes that week were fairly straight-forward but uneventful as Victor and Logan drilled their students in different ends of the gym. After class was dismissed on Thursday, Kitty approached Logan.

"Umm, excuse me, Coach?" she said tentatively.

"Yeah, Pryde?" Logan asked.

Kitty took a deep breath. "I was wondering... see, I've always wanted to learn martial arts, like we're doing now. And I was wondering if it was possible for me to have lessons outside of class? I asked Ms Monroe last year but she didn't have the time."

Logan nodded slowly. "Don't see any reason why not. I'll have to run it by the Professor first but I don't imagine he would have any objections."

Kitty's face lit up. "That would be awesome. Thank you so much."

"No problem. You should get going now."

"Yes ,Coach. Thanks again!" Kitty said, and she bounded happily to the locker room.

* * *

Professor Xavier didn't have a problem with Logan giving Kitty additional classes outside of school hours but he did insist that their sessions be open to anyone who wanted to watch or join in. Thus on Friday Logan told all the students during class about the extra classes open to whoever wanted them. Kitty was both excited that the extra classes were going ahead but also a little disappointed that they were going to be open to everyone. She really wanted to learn and she didn't want to feel crowded out by a lot of other students.

On Saturday, Logan waited in the gym for the interested to arrive. Kitty showed up nice and early, they got to chatting about what was to come while waiting for others to show up.

"Hmm," Logan said as he glanced at his watch. "Looks like we're it for today."

"Looks like," Kitty replied. She was pleased about the class not being full of other people, at the same time wondering why they wouldn't want to learn more. Maybe it felt too much like gym class?

Logan got the class started. At one point he thought he saw Marie at the door but otherwise no one else showed up.

* * *

"Well," Marie said as she finished setting up the air mattress in Wanda's room. "At least this time we don't have to endure a slumber party with the rest of the girls."

"Right," Wanda agreed from where she sat at her computer. "Thank you Agatha."

Marie chuckled as she stood.

"Alright, I shall get out of your hair for now, and I'll see you at dinner."

"Later."

Marie headed off down the hall. The moment she shut herself into the elevator her bladder decided that she really needed to go. Marie sighed and wondered why it couldn't have decided that while she was still in Wanda's room where she could have used the ensuite. Once she alighted at the bottom floor, she slipped into the public restroom and did her business.

She was about to emerge after washing her hands, her hand was even on the door, when she heard voices on the other side. Marie wasn't normally the type to eavesdrop but who and what they were saying gave her pause.

"Are you only getting back from that martial arts class now?" she heard Jean say.

"Yep! It was so much fun," Kitty replied enthusiastically. "Coach and I lost track of time but it was so awesome. It was like, hanging out with Dad or something, except that Coach Howlett actually knows cool stuff like ninjitsu. Eeeee! I'm gonna be a ninja! This is sooo awesome."

Jean laughed and the voices faded from ear shot.

* * *

Marie tried to read while stretched out on the lounge but she couldn't concentrate. Her mind kept going back to the conversation she'd overheard and she couldn't get it out of her head. Kitty had been Logan's only student that day, she knew, she'd checked in to see how things were going. The class had gone on for hours pass the scheduled time too, it seemed, which meant that Logan probably wasn't too far away, especially given that he was supposed to be going on another date with Ororo that night.

As if on cue the door opened. Marie lifted her head and scowled at her father.

"About time you go back," she said as he shut the door behind him. "I was beginning to think I'd have to tell Ms Monroe you stood her up."

"Class went a little late, is all," Logan replied. "You have all your things for tonight?"

"Yeah." Marie looked back down at her book. "Although I don't see why I have to stay in the girls dorms while you go out on your hot date."

"I thought you liked Wanda."

"I do. But that doesn't mean I want to be with her 24/7."

"Did you have a fight or something?"

Marie's head shot back up again.

"No," she said, looking at her father incredulously. "I'm just saying sometimes people need time alone. And I'm perfectly capable of staying home by myself. Oh, but apparently you don't trust me."

"I do trust you—"

Marie snorted contemptuously.

"It's LeBeau I have a problem with," Logan went on.

"I don't see what he has to do with this."

"The night we arrived, we both saw him climb down the side of the building from his bedroom window on the top floor," Logan pointed out. "He's willing and able to circumvent the curfew whenever he wants. And I don't want him to decide that tonight would be a good time to pay you a visit."

"Right, so, in other words, you don't trust me," Marie said, looking back down at her book once more. "You think that if Remy and I were ever alone in a room together we'd immediately start going at it like rabbits. You don't trust me to make informed choices, or send him packing, or whatever."

"That's not what I'm—"

"That's exactly what you're saying." Marie slammed her book shut. "But I don't know why I'm so surprised. You don't know me at all, and you've never bothered to try."

"Anna—" Logan started to say but Marie had already stormed out the front door, slamming it behind her.

* * *

Ororo set aside the menu and appraised the slight frown on Logan's face.

"Another fight with Marie?" she inquired.

"Huh?" Logan said, visibly jolted out of his train of thought. "Oh, uhh, yeah. I don't even know what brought this one on. We had a good talk after the concert, and things were starting to look up... and then she goes cranky on me about sleeping over at the dorms tonight and complaining that I don't trust her. I tried to tell her it was LeBeau I was worried about, but she wouldn't listen."

"Of course not," Ororo replied. "You just told her you do not trust her friends."

Logan frowned.

"And she probably resents being told to go elsewhere so that you can have a night off," Ororo went on gently. "There's also the possibility that she has been angry at you for so long, that she couldn't handle the... peace you two had made since the concert and deliberately picked a fight."

Logan groaned and buried his face in his hands.

"Perhaps next time we go out for an evening, you might let her stay home and she could have Wanda stay with her for the night," Ororo suggested. "I am sure that Erik would be agreeable, and we can always go back to my place rather than yours if it looks like we are going to be out particularly late."

Logan slowly lifted his head.

"I might do that," he said thoughtfully, then smile ruefully. "Sorry if I'm burdening you with all my troubles with Marie."

"Think nothing of it," Ororo replied as the waiter made his way over to their table to take their order. "Marie is an important part of your life, I accept and appreciate that."

* * *

Remy located Marie in the library on Sunday. As he sat down beside her, he dropped a baggie with a white powder inside it on the table in front of her. Marie lifted her head from her book and looked at the baggie, then at Remy.

"Uhh," she said awkwardly. "What's this?"

"Itching powder," Remy replied slyly.

"Oh, right. Of course," Marie said. "That should have been my first guess."

Remy chuckled and then leaned into her. "I have an idea for a prank on the X-Men, one that will also let us annoy your father as a bonus."

Marie took a long look at the itching powder and then smiled slyly at Remy. "I'm listening."

"We run late to gym class," Remy said gleefully. "I know Creed likes to give detentions for being late, but I figure if we show up with say, messed up clothes and hair he might let us off."

"Just showing up like that would infuriate my father," Marie said thoughtfully. "Might be worth it."

Remy chuckled. "Then, while we're in the locker rooms changing, we put itching powder on the X-Men's clothes. Just a dab on the back of their shirts should be plenty—a little of this stuff goes a long way. Just make sure you use gloves."

Marie nodded, an image of Kitty going crazy trying to scratch her back going through her head. "I'm in."

* * *

Remy waited for Marie outside the janitor's closet near the gymnasium just before their Tuesday gym class. His hands were behind his back, one making quick work of the lock. He had just slipped his lockpick back into the small hidden pocket of his school blazer when Marie arrived.

"Hey Roguey," he opened up the door and jerked his head towards the gap. "In here."

"Okay," Marie replied as she followed him inside. "Why?"

"Just laying low so we can be appropriately late," Remy answered, closing the door behind them. "But since we're here..."

"I had a feeling that was coming," Marie said with some amusement in her tone.

The door shut out all light with it but Remy had no issues sliding his hands around her waist. "That a problem, ma chère?"

"Not at all."

Marie wrapped her arms around his neck and he kissed her intently. They had made out in secluded places before, but there was something rather exciting about doing it at school when they should be in class and were at risk of getting caught and into some big trouble.

Remy checked his watch a few minutes later, and confirmed it was time to go. Marie blinked as her eyes readjusted to the light when Remy opened up the door again. He locked it behind him and they headed off to the gym.

Everyone looked at them as they came in, hand and hand, with their shoes echoing loudly on the floor. Logan's eyes blazed with fury and Marie avoided his gaze.

"Just because you two have had prior training," Victor bellowed, his voice echoing throughout the room, "does not give you an excuse to run late! Get changed and make it fast before I give you detention for the rest of your miserable lives."

Remy and Marie were quick to race into their respective locker rooms, neither one certain whether they would end up with detention or not. Both changed possibly faster than they had before. They put on a disposable glove as well and dashed around putting the itching powder onto the X-Men's shirts. Marie made it out of the locker room before Remy, most likely because she only had four shirts to concern herself with while Remy had seven. They joined their team mates and Victor didn't say another word to them as he continued with the lessons.

When at last the class came to an end, Victor told Remy and Marie to stay, then glared at Logan until he left the hall. Once they were alone, Victor turned his full attention to his wayward students.

"I'm letting you off this _once_," Victor said, "but only because the look on Logan's face was priceless. Pull a stunt like this again and it'll be detention for a week, got it?"

"Yes, Coach," Remy and Marie replied in perfect unison.

"Get out of here."

Remy and Marie scurried off to the locker rooms. Marie was just about to step into her cubicle to change when Kitty came out of hers, scratching at her back. Kitty didn't seem to notice her, in fact, she didn't seem to notice anything except how itchy her back had become and continued scratching incessantly as she left. Marie entered her cubicle with a smug smile on her face.


	18. Fire Alarm!

**Chapter 18: ****Fire Alarm! **

Victor looked at the students sitting in a circle around a blue mat on the gymnasium floor. Logan stood to his side.

"Alright maggots," Victor said. "Here's how our little tournament is going to work this week. You're going to compete in matches against each other. Each match will last no longer than three minutes. You will be judged by your coach on your performance. Your _performance_. These are demonstration matches, not an opportunity to beat each other into a bloody pulp, mores the pity."

Logan rolled his eyes up to the ceiling, as if to say "typical".

"Boys. For round one there will be seven matches total. At the end of the round, the X-Boy and the Brother with the lowest score will be eliminated. We'll then proceed with round two, which will have six matches, so on and so forth, until there is only one Brother and one X-Boy left. Then maybe we'll let you beat each other to a bloody pulp," Victor went on with a smirk.

"Girls. Because a certain runt over here decided to pull strings and enrol his daughter at the last minute," Victor looked pointedly at Logan, "we have an uneven number of girls, so we'll be handling your matches a little differently this year. You will have two rounds. Round one will consist of twelve matches, wherein each X-Girl will fight each Sister. For round two, the X-Girl and the Sister with the highest scores will face off against each other to determine the ultimate winner."

"I'd like to emphasise that we don't want to see anyone deliberately trying to hurt their opponent," Logan said firmly. "Accidents will happen but that's no excuse not to be careful. Alright, first match is... Haller and Dukes."

David and Fred got up from their places in the circle and stood opposite each other in the ring while Logan and Victor cleared out. Once the coaches were ready, David and Fred bowed to each other as they had been taught and the fight began. Both being senior students they had three years worth of prior training in gym class and had retained enough from all four years to actually put on a decent performance for all those watching. David was more aggressive while Fred was skilled in defensive tactics.

"Worthington and Wyngard," Logan announced once David and Fred's fight was over.

David and Fred traded placed with Warren and Jason and watched the new fight while they caught their breath. Unlike David and Fred's fight, Warren and Jason's ended with a 'winner' much to the delight of the students watching. Jason just couldn't match Warren's ability and ended up on the mat three times before Victor called the match over with a growl for Jason.

"Grey and Callisto," Logan said.

Jean and Callisto met in the middle and bowed towards each other after the boys sat back down. The two girls were evenly matched and their fight ran the full three minutes.

"Rasputin and LeBeau."

Piotr faced off against Remy with a resigned expression, remembering well the matches they'd had in the years previous. It was of no surprise to Piotr that Remy not only blocked or dodged every single one of his attacks, but the Brother also managed to get around Piotr every time he tried to block or dodge him. Logan watched this match with a slight frown on his face, seeing moves he knew Victor wouldn't have taught Remy, and rightly presumed that Remy must have had years of prior training like Marie did.

"Summers and Allerdyce."

Scott and John's fight went the way of Warren and Jason's, with Scott dominating over John. The match ended early and John tried to ignore the dark glare that Victor shot at him when he sat down closer to Wanda than to Remy. John hated self defence season. Just learning the moves he was okay with, mostly. It was the sparring sessions he abhorred and he avoided them every chance he got. It took everything he had not to suffer a panic attack, often using humour and goofing around to ignore the reality of the situation.

"Pryde and Howlett."

Marie was rather pleased her first opponent was the girl who had been monopolising so much of Logan's time lately. Every Saturday since the extra classes started, Kitty had been the only student and they always went over time. It infuriated Marie for reasons she wouldn't allow herself to think about, let alone say out loud.

Kitty was both excited and nervous about her first match. She really wanted to show Logan that she had learned from his classes and it wasn't a waste of his time. By the same token, everyone had seen Marie sparing with Victor and holding her ground, so Kitty was a little apprehensive about going up against her.

The girls bowed towards each other, then circled a little waiting for the other to make the first move. Kitty got impatient first and Marie turned it back on her, sending her flying to the floor, flat on her back. She moved back a few steps while Kitty got up again but just before Kitty sorted herself, Marie attacked. Kitty was proud of herself for blocking successfully, only to be tripped up from behind and knocked back down again. Kitty pushed herself up quickly, annoyed and frustrated that she was getting her butt handed to her so easily, especially after all the hard work she'd put in.

After Marie knocked Kitty down the third time, Victor called the match off, all the while smirking at Logan. Logan ignored him.

"You're doing it all wrong, Rogue," Remy said as she sat back down next to him. "You're supposed to play with them. It's so much more fun that way."

"I'll keep that in mind," Marie replied. It didn't show on her face or in her voice, but she was very, very happy about knocking the wind out of Kitty.

"Ahem," Logan said. "Madrox and Maximoff."

Jamie and Pietro entered the ring. The two were evenly matched, while Pietro was light on his feet, Jamie had better technique.

"Wagner and Alvers."

Lance proved to be rather heavy-handed so it was fortunate for Kurt that he was so good at dodging. Kurt did utilise some of his acrobatic talents in the fight but tried not to use them too much as he didn't want it to reflect badly on his score.

"Lee and Maximoff."

Jubilee and Wanda faced off against each other. While the fight was fairly even, it was clear that Wanda had a slight edge over Jubilee, no doubt due to prior experience the previous year.

"Drake and Tolanski."

Bobby and Todd's match was pretty straightforward and not at all spectacular. Finally, only Tabitha hadn't fought yet and she waited anxiously for her name and the name of the Sister who would be fighting a second time to be called.

"Smith and Howlett."

Tabitha groaned as she entered the ring. She had seen how easily Marie had dealt with Kitty who had actually taken extra classes. Sure, she knew that she'd have to face against Marie "Rogue" Howlett eventually, but she wasn't exactly confident about it.

Marie took pity on Tabitha, either that or she had taken Remy's advice of "playing with them" under advisement, as their match lasted the full three minutes. Tabitha was partly relieved that she wasn't having the wind knocked out of her in rapid succession and partly irritated that Rogue was deliberately going easy on her. Kitty watched as Tabitha had a much easier time with Marie than she had, feeling rather miserable about it.

Marie and Tabitha's match was the final round for the class and their coaches sent everyone back to the locker rooms. Logan asked Kitty to stay and once everyone was out of earshot, he spoke:

"You did fine," he assured her.

"It doesn't feel like it," Kitty replied, looking down.

Logan shook his head. "You can't compare yourself with Marie. Under normal circumstances you wouldn't even be competing. She's been doing this since she was four. Life ain't a movie, Half-pint. You don't just start taking lessons and then a montage later be able to take on champions. Not unless that montage is covering years of dedication and practice."

Kitty lifted her gaze to meet his eyes and nodded.

"I'll try to remember that," she said. "Thanks Coach."

"No problem, kid."

* * *

Kitty glanced around the cafeteria and made her way over to the spare seat next to Amanda. As she sat down with her lunch, the other occupants looked at her almost guiltily: Piotr, Jamie, Bobby, Jubilee, Tabitha, and Kurt.

"Hey," she said slowly, feeling their eyes on her.

They responded with awkward hellos and silence. Kitty cleared her throat.

"Am I interrupting something?" she asked.

"Ahem," Piotr said after no one else replied straight away. "We were just discussing, ahh, pranks."

Kitty looked at Piotr, glanced around the table, and settled back on Piotr. "To play on the Brotherhood?"

"Yes..."

Kitty nodded. After Marie wiping the floor with her before and the recent itching powder prank, she wasn't feeling at all charitable towards the Brotherhood.

"I'm in," she said. "So, what we got so far?"

* * *

The first step in their plan was to acquire some of the crushed ice from the cafeteria. They weren't prepared on Monday but they were on Tuesday. Taking a fair helping, they carefully stored their pilfered ice in a cooler overnight. On Wednesday, the ice was split up between them and smuggled into the locker rooms for gym class.

Kitty, Jubilee, and Tabitha took their time getting changed until Marie, Wanda, and Callisto had left, then they put the crushed ice into the toes of the Sisters' school shoes. Likewise, in the boys locker room, Piotr, Jamie, Bobby (who thought of the ice), and Kurt waited until the Brotherhood departed, then slipped crushed ice into the toes of the Brothers' shoes.

As the seven joined the rest of their teammates, they each hoped that the ice would stay cold at least until the end of class. Between the cooler weather and the tiles, the locker rooms were on the chilly side.

The students lined up at the starting line for their weekly one mile run and took off at the signal as they always did. Not for the first time that school year, the run was a welcome change from the rest of their gym class. They were exactly halfway through the boys' matches, having started on round three the day before. The girls were two thirds the way through theirs, with eight matches down and only five more to go.

They made it back to the finish line, one after another. Victor told Fred off for being slow and the students returned to the locker rooms to shower and change. The X-Men pranksters listened carefully for any indication that the Brotherhood had been caught out.

"Ick!" Marie exclaimed and Kitty hid her laughter in the safety of her cubical. "What the hell? Alright, who put ice in my shoes?"

She only got giggles in response. A moment later Wanda voiced the same objection but worst of all was Callisto getting the ice treatment.

"Which one of you little bitches put ice in my shoes?" Callisto demanded. "I'll put the smackdown on you so fast you won't know what hit you."

"Sure, because that's really going to convince them to come forward," Wanda's voice carried cynically throughout the room. "Great, some of it melted. Now I'm going to have cold feet for the rest of the day. Thanks a lot."

Callisto's eyes locked onto Jean as she emerged from her cubicle and she intercepted her.

"Was it you?" Callisto said, eyes blazing with outrage.

Tabitha took that moment as her cue to escape as quickly as possible. While Jean assured Callisto as calmly as possible that she had nothing to do with the prank in question, Kitty and Jubilee escaped as well, catching up with Tabitha. The three girls looked at each other and giggled. Only moments later, Jean caught up with them.

"Ice in their shoes, huh?" Jean said and the three immediately silenced their giggles.

"What's the point of having a hot shower if you just end up with cold feet again?" they heard Marie say to Wanda.

There was a moment of silence, then Jean began to chuckle.

* * *

Friday's gym class arrived and with it the last of the tournament. All the girls' matches were done except the final. The boys had the final match of round four to do: Kurt and Fred. It wasn't a particularly exciting match and once the three minutes were up, Logan and Victor paused to decide on who was going to be eliminated and what the three matches of round 5 were going to be.

"Alright, Jamie," Logan said, addressing his team. "You've been doing a great job, but you won't be going into round 5."

Jamie nodded, not at all disappointed to hear that. His opponent for round 4 had been Remy and Jamie did not want to fight him again.

"Fred, you're out," Victor said to his team. "Next match: Worthington and LeBeau."

Warren reluctantly joined Remy on the mat. He knew this fight was coming sooner or later and supposed that later was just putting off the inevitable. As Remy had with all his other matches, he played with his opponent, deliberately drawing the whole thing out for the maximum three minutes. Warren was relieved when it was over.

Remy and Warren were followed by Scott and Pietro, the final match Kurt and Lance. This time they got a longer break while their coaches conferred. It helped that there were less matches to get through.

Logan and Victor called their teams back and announced that Warren and Pietro had been eliminated. Kurt and Remy were announced as the first match of round 6. Kurt was a little disappointed that he couldn't get a longer break but he knew they were pressed for time. Unlike previous rounds, Kurt felt justified in making liberal use of his acrobatic skills to dodge Remy's attacks. The rest of the class loved it.

Scott and Lance's match wasn't nearly so entertaining.

"Okay, we're going to give the boys a break now," Logan said after he and Victor had conferred once more, "and have the final girl's match: Pryde and Howlett."

Kitty took a deep breath as she stepped onto the mat and faced off against Marie. She knew she had done well, but she wasn't sure if Jean might have been better than her. She really hoped Marie wasn't going to humiliate her like she did last time. As the girls bowed towards each other, Kitty reminded herself what Logan had said about Marie's years of training and decided that as long as she tried her best she still won, no matter whatever else might happen.

Logan was relieved to see Marie actually gave Kitty a chance this time. He had mixed feelings about her prowess. Part of him was proud of her and her obvious skill. Another part of him felt some apprehension and concern; Marie was in an obvious position of power and had been the entire tournament. None of the other girls came close to her level of skill and he didn't want to see her abuse or misuse that power.

But most of all he felt amazed because perhaps for the first time since he'd taken her from Mississippi he could actually see himself in her. She was a brawler, just like him, getting into the fight and giving it everything she had. She liked to get up close and every defensive move she made she turned into an attack. He sensed she was probably more frustrated than anything else that she didn't have someone else on her level to spar against.

"And our final match," Logan announced once Marie was declared victor, "is Summers and LeBeau."

Scott and Remy's fight went much the same way Kitty and Marie's did, Remy the obvious winner. Logan watched Remy critically too and aside from the fact his primary discipline was different, he fought differently from Marie. Where she was aggressive, he was defensive. He preferred to stand back and then zip in an attack when his opponent was least expecting it. Logan could believe that Remy was being defensive on purpose, since he had previously laid claim that it was "more fun to play with them", but he suspected that for all his bravado, Remy preferred not to fight, especially not in close quarters.

"Okay," Victor said once Remy and Scott had sat down again. "We've got time for one last fight."

"Oooh! Oooh!" said Tabitha waving her arm above her head. "Remy verses Rogue!"

Logan raised his eyebrows at the name 'Rogue' and glanced at Marie. Apparently the name he'd heard Remy call her recently had stuck.

"Better idea," Victor said smugly. "Today is Logan's birthday and I haven't given him his birthday punches yet."

Logan stifled a groan. He knew that sooner or later his brother would strike but he hadn't expected it during class. Some cheering came up from the students, along with a couple of happy birthdays.

"Now is not the time, Creed," Logan replied tersely, glaring at him.

"What's wrong, runt? Worried you're going to have your butt handed to you in front of your daughter?" Victor sneered.

"Fight! Fight!" Tabitha shouted, and others quickly joined in. "Fight! Fight! Fight!"

Marie said nothing. She had completely forgotten that this was her father's birthday, although a part of her wondered if she'd even known when it was to begin with.

Logan growled and acquiesced. He felt it was inappropriate but he also wanted to get it over with. If they didn't fight now, Victor would just tackle him later. The students cheered as Logan took his position on the mat. Victor smirked. They bowed, but Victor's was hasty and plunged into the fight.

It was quickly apparent to all the students that Victor and Logan were _good_. Even Remy and Marie garnered a new respect for the skills of the two men in the ring. It also fast became obvious that this was no demonstration, this was a real fight and that reality became compounded when first blood was drawn. Some of the students thought that was cool, others better appreciated what was really going on.

"Excuse me, Coach?" Scott spoke up. "Don't you think this is getting out of hand?"

"Shut up, Summers," said Lance, "don't spoil the fun."

Scott shook his head. His words had fallen on deaf ears as neither coach responded. Indeed, the fight only continued to escalate in violence.

"We have to stop this," Jean said.

"How?" asked Marie. "Unless you've got some telekinetic powers you haven't told anyone about, I don't see any of us breaking this up any time soon."

"You can fight."

"I'm not getting in the middle of that," Marie said, gesturing to Logan and Victor as their fight drew them to the edge of the ring. Bobby, Kurt, and Jubilee hurriedly moved away, starting to get a very clear idea of just how bad things had gotten.

"Everyone away from the ring," Scott declared. He caught a glimpse of Remy taking off in his peripheral vision but busied himself in making sure that the younger students took his words seriously.

"Maybe we should get a hose?" Piotr said.

No one had a chance to reply for at that moment the fire alarm when off.

* * *

Professor Xavier looked at Logan and Victor coldly in his office later that day. The two men had ample evidence of their fight in the form of swelling, cuts, and bruises.

"And just what did you two think you were doing?" Professor Xavier asked. "This is a school. You two are supposed to be setting an example, instead you get into a brawl in the middle of class."

"Actually it was the end of class, and I was just giving Jimmy over here his birthday punches," Victor replied with a smirk, completely unashamed of himself, "just like I do every year."

Professor Xavier took a moment to consider that then narrowed his eyes at Victor. "This is why you apply for time off at this time every year?"

"It's like a family tradition," Victor said with a voice full of self-satisfaction.

Logan rolled his eyes. "Sorry Professor. It won't happen again."

"No, it won't," Professor Xavier replied firmly. "I will not tolerate this kind of behaviour. I can accept that you two don't get along but from now on you will keep your fights off school grounds and away from the students, like you should have been doing in the first place. And that includes Anna Marie for as long as she's a student at this school. Is that understood?"

"Perfectly," Logan replied.

"Yeah, yeah," Victor said, waving his hand as if it was a given. "So, you read LeBeau the riot act too for pulling the fire alarm?"

"Remy has been... reminded what the fire alarm is for," Professor Xavier replied, narrowing his eyes at Victor, "and commended for finding a way to break up your fight before any of the students could be hurt in the crossfire."

"What crossfire? I knew where they all were," Victor said. "You did too, right Logan?"

"It ain't the point, Creed," Logan said tolerantly.

"It was just a bit of fun. No one got hurt."

"That's not what the blood on your shirt says," Professor Xavier said.

"Pah. Just a little scratch. Nothing worth crying over."

"Nevertheless," Professor Xavier insisted. "I will not tolerate a second incident. This is your only warning."


	19. It's Ok, but Just This Once

**Chapter 19: ****It's Ok, but Just This Once**

"What are your plans for today?" Logan asked Marie when she entered the kitchen on Saturday morning.

"The usual, horseback riding with Wanda, hanging out with my friends," Marie replied as she set about getting her breakfast. "What about you? Oh wait, let me guess. Tonight you have a hot date with Ms Monroe, which means I'll be stuck at the girls dorms sleeping on that wretched air mattress again, but before that you'll be spending most of the day with your little pet student, Kitty."

Logan cleared his throat. "I'll admit things have been going overtime—"

"To put it mildly."

"—but the novelty will wear off soon enough. And last week didn't run nearly as late," Logan insisted. "They're also open to all students, not just Kitty, which is what I wanted to talk to you about."

Marie cocked her head and looked stonily at him while she waited for her toast to pop.

"I was wondering if you were interested in continuing your classes?" Logan asked. "I know, I know, I should have asked you months ago, when we first moved up here. It just slipped my mind and you've never brought it up—"

"I looked into it already," Marie replied. "There aren't any nearby dojos that have classes for my level at a good time."

"Then how about classes with me?"

Marie was spared having to reply straight away by the toaster popping.

"I wouldn't want to impinge on your precious quality time with your star pupil, or your girlfriend," she said as she buttered her toast.

Logan frowned. "Anna, I always have time for you."

"Actions speak louder than words."

"You're right. Two o'clock, you and me at the gym," Logan said decisively.

Marie paused for a moment, then commented snidely, "I notice you're still seeing Kitty first."

"Yeah, this way if I go overtime with anyone, it's you."

Marie heard Logan walk away and a smile grew on her face.

…...

Logan was rather pleased when Marie showed up at the gym at two. A part of him had been worried she wouldn't show up just to annoy him. He had finally managed to end his class with Kitty on time too.

"May I stay and watch?" Kitty asked as Marie wandered over to them.

"Maybe some other time," Logan replied with a glance at Marie. "I'm sure you've got plenty of Saturday activities to catch up on."

"Yeah, probably," Kitty waved as she departed. "Thanks, Coach."

Logan and Marie looked at each other for a long moment, then Logan gestured to the mat.

"Alright," he said, "how about we start this with a sparring match? I know what you can do against beginners already."

Marie smirked and joined Logan on the mat. They bowed to each other, then the fight began. Logan took it easy on her at first, since he had no idea what her actual level of skill was and that was the whole point of this initial match. He soon upped his game, realising she was better than he first thought.

His opinion that she was a brawler was confirmed. Logan was pleased and impressed with Marie's determination. No matter how many times he got the better of her, she just jumped right back in and kept going.

When they were good and exhausted they declared the match finished. For a moment they just looked at each other while they got their breath back.

"Pretty good, kid," Logan said.

"You're not so bad yourself, old man," Marie replied, a pleased smile on her face.

Logan grunted, then nodded his head towards her

"I spoke to Erik, ahem, that is Mr Lehnsherr," he said between breaths. "If you want, instead of staying in the dorm over night, you can have Wanda over at our place instead."

Marie blinked at him.

"What, really?" she asked when she found her voice. "You mean it?"

"Yeah, I mean it," Logan was tempted to add "but no boys" and decided against it.

"Thank you," Marie said genuinely. "I'll take you up on that."

"I thought you might. So, ready to go again?"

"Sure."

...

Marie and Wanda enjoyed a good night together. They stayed up late watching movies and munching on various goodies that Logan kept in the fridge. In the morning, they hit up the kitchen for breakfast. Logan wasn't back yet, but he'd told Marie the night before that unless things went bad, he would be staying at Ororo's that night. Marie felt both weird and relieved knowing that.

"I'm not sure if those eggs are any good," Marie said, eyeing the carton dubiously as Wanda pulled it out of the fridge. "They've been in there awhile."

"One way to find out," Wanda replied with a shrug.

Wanda took out one of the eggs and then broke it open over a bowl. The smell that emanated made both girls turn up their noses in disgust.

"Okay, that's just gross," Wanda was washing the bowl out, the yolk slipping down the sink.

"Yeah, I'd say they've gone bad," Marie said ruefully, picking up the carton. "I'll just throw them out now. Hmm..."

"What?"

"I should probably take them outside," Marie replied thoughtfully. "If I dump them in here, they might break and stink out the kitchen."

"True. I... oooh..."

"Idea?"

Wanda grinned devilishly at Marie. "Who says John and Remy should have all the fun pulling pranks?"

"Who says that indeed?" Marie put the carton back onto the kitchen bench.

"How many eggs are left?"

"Four," Marie replied after opening the carton. She grinned at Wanda. "Kitty, Jean, Jubilee, and Tabby?"

"You read my mind."

It was a simple matter to put their prank in action. They lingered after breakfast and hid the eggs amongst Wanda's things. Since Kitty, Jean, Jubilee, and Tabitha had all gone out by that point, it was quite easy to sneak into their rooms and find places to hide eggs, putting a hole into each egg with a pin. It was just a matter of time before the girls starting noticing the smell and went on the hunt for the source.

...

Marie and Wanda weren't the only ones who had pranks on the brain that weekend. Remy and John decided revenge for putting ice in their shoes was absolutely necessary.

"Short sheeting beds? Really?" John asked as they headed back to their dorms. "Is that the best you've got?"

"It's poetic justice," Remy replied cheerfully. "They made our feet cold, we'll make theirs cold."

John shrugged, "Alright, you're the boss."

Since their targets were all out and about, as Marie and Wanda's had been, it was easy enough to sneak into the rooms of David, Piotr, Scott, Jamie, and Bobby. As Warren and Kurt were day students, they'd miss out on being victims, this time. Remy and John were sure they could make up for it some other time. They also thought it was unlikely Warren was in on the last prank anyway.

The hard part turned out to be making sure their beds appeared untouched. Before they acted, Remy took a photo of each bed. After they short sheeted the bed, they compared the bed to the photo and adjusted the top covers to match.

"Nice," was what John had to say about it. "Never would have thought of that."

Remy just grinned at him.

…...

Just at 'lights out', Bobby switched off his bedroom light and got into bed. His legs slid down under the covers and ran out of sheet just before his feet got to the end of the bed, leaving his legs covered only by the quilt from the mid shin down.

"What the...?"

He felt around with his feet, trying to find the rest of the sheet. Finally, in his frustration, he got out of bed and switched the light on. He pulled back the upper covers and saw the top sheet had been folded back from the foot of the bed and tucked in. Bobby made an exasperated noise and went about remaking the bed.

Bobby was not long into it when the door opened and he heard the voice of his dorm father behind him:

"Drake, it's lights out," said Guido.

"Yeah, I know, Mr Carosella," Bobby replied anxiously. "I just have to remake my bed."

"You should have done that earlier," Guido admonished him. "Lights better be out by the time I've come back. Got it?"

"Yes sir."

…...

It was a few days before Jean, Kitty, Jubilee, and Tabitha were stunk out of their own rooms and finally found the eggs. They were even more annoyed than the boys were at having their beds short sheeted. It didn't take long for the X-Men pranksters to get together and start plotting revenge.

"Okay, so I was looking up pranks on the internet—" Kitty began.

"Aww, that's no fun," said Bobby.

"Hey, there are lots of pranksters out there more than willing to share their diabolical evil schemes," Kitty said giving him in a bland look. "Anyway, I really wanna do the glitter trap. Somehow."

"What's a glitter trap?" Tabitha asked.

"Sounds girly," said Jamie.

"Basically it's a trap that—when triggered—dumps a bunch of glitter on your victim. Or confetti if you're feeling nice, but I like the idea of glitter," Kitty said wickedly. "Can you imagine the look on Creed's face if his team showed up for class covered in glitter?"

Much gleeful chuckling followed and they barely noticed Scott walk over to them.

"I hope you lot aren't doing what I suspect you're doing," he admonished them. "This pranking business has gone far enough. It needs to stop."

"Aww, we're just having a little fun," said Tabitha. "Okay, so, Kitty, how do we make a glitter trap?"

"Well, most of these instructions call for something to be put in the ceiling..."

Kitty went on to explain the various methods, reading from the notes she had handy. Scott gave up trying to get through to them and walked away while they debated how they were going to make a trap. All the instructions he heard Kitty read out simply wouldn't work in the locker room. With any luck they'd just forget all about it.

Despite his desire for the pranking to end, at their next gym class Scott found himself looking around the locker room trying to figure out how to plant a glitter trap. There were seventeen cubicles in total, two of which were for toilets and had proper doors. The remaining fifteen had privacy curtains and walls that stopped short about a foot down from the ceiling cutting them off from the rest of the room. The curtains didn't quite meet the floor and had a tendency to let in drafts.

Inside the cubicles there was a shelf with towel rack, a locker in the dry changing space, and a shower which had a glass door to prevent water from wetting their things. As far as Scott knew, everyone put their stuff in the locker when they were done changing into their gym clothes as it was the only way to really guarantee they'd stay dry and secure. Because the facilities were shared with the other half of the school, no one ever left anything in the lockers after class was over—unless it was a prank.

The thought gave Scott pause and he realised with a groan he'd figured out exactly how they could leave a glitter trap. He found himself torn between wanting to see it through and wanting to do the right thing.

He wrested with his personal demon for the rest of the week, particularly during gym class. Since the self defence classes finished up they had moved onto basketball. Most of their classes were spent doing drills but their Friday classes were games against the other team, the last week would be a series of games against each other. The Brotherhood's sheer arrogance after that Friday's game was the decider for Scott. If it wasn't bad enough that Remy showed off with shooting hoops behind his back, Wanda had been enjoying a particularly lucky game which involved her scoring multiple three pointers. Even then it wouldn't have been so bad if they weren't so insufferably smug.

And so it happened that at lunch that day, Scott joined the pranksters at their table. They looked at him apprehensively, expecting another lecture.

"I know how to pull off the glitter traps."

...

The following day, Scott headed into town with Warren, Jean, and Candy to buy supplies for the glitter traps. The rest of the weekend was spent making the traps. On Monday, he tested his prototype sans glitter in the locker in his cubicle. Satisfied it would work, during spare hours on the days to follow he taught the other members of their team how to set them up.

Friday was the last day of their basketball season and also the day the X-Men put their plan into action. The tricky part was getting all the traps into place without any of the Brotherhood catching them. Scott figured out that little problem too by organising all the X-Men who shared the class prior with any members of the Brotherhood to stall them on the way to the gym, while everyone who didn't were armed with the traps and had to race to the gym and install as many as possible before the Brotherhood arrived.

Fortunately for the X-Men, installation was quick—moreso with practice—and although they weren't able to delay many of the Brotherhood for very long, it was enough time to get all the traps in place without getting caught. This was especially important for the girls, as their locker rooms were identical to the boys (back in the days when the school had been all boys, the Brotherhood had one room and the X-Men had the other), and if the girls suspected their usual cubicles had been sabotaged, they had plenty of alternate cubicles they could use.

Once everyone had arrived and went about changing into their gym clothes, it was only a matter of time before the first locker opened...

"Hey!"

"What the...?"

"Oh crap! Guys don't open your—"

"Argh!"

"—locker."

The words of warning came too late, though in some cases were ill-advised or fell on deaf ears with them opening up the locker anyway. Not a single member of the Brotherhood left the locker rooms unscathed. Victor was positively livid when he caught sight of them.

"What do you think this is? This is gym not art!" he bellowed at them. "Do you think this is come kind of joke, that you can just show up covered in glitter like some sort of Burlesque show? There is no place in sports for glitter! Detentions for all of you!"

Naturally they all objected:

"But that's not fair!"

"The X-Men trapped our lockers!"

"It wasn't our fault!"

"Shut the hell up!" Victor yelled. "The next pillow-biter to open their dammed mouth gets two detentions, got that?"

The Brotherhood fell into sullen silence. Victor glared at them until he was satisfied that he wouldn't get a peep out of them, then split the class up for the game of basketball ahead of them.

They were the most vicious games of basketball the teams had played yet. The Brotherhood was seriously pissed off about the detentions and the glitter and they were determined to make the X-Men pay. Certain X-Men, such as Tabitha, couldn't resist the urge to make comments about how pretty they looked and make Twilight jokes, which only served to fuel their rage.

If rage was all that was needed to win, the Brotherhood would have slaughtered the X-Men. As it happened, it led more to injuries. Lance, Pietro, Todd, and Callisto were not at all shy about 'accidentally-on-purpose' ramming into the X-Men and knocking them down, stepping on their feet, elbowing them in the gut, tripping them over, or even throwing the ball directly at their heads. Logan quickly figured of that.

"Control your students, Creed," Logan snapped at him. "This is unsportsmanlike behaviour!"

"Control your own students, runt!" Victor snarled back at him.

In the end that was lots of yelling, scraped knees and elbows, a few new bruises, and no one had any idea who won. Most of the glitter that wasn't attached to their gym clothes came off in the shower, but for the rest of the day the Brotherhood found bits of it through their bags and on their things.

Revenge wouldn't come soon enough.


	20. Coming Clean

**Chapter 20: ****Coming Clean**

"Okay maggots," Victor said to his team where they stood in the middle of the field. "For the next two weeks we're going to be doing track and field events. This will culminate next Friday, when all regular classes will be cancelled so the whole school can compete against each other. Except for Wednesdays, we'll be rotating which event we'll be practising leading up to that day. Today we'll be doing shot put."

Victor gave the heavy balls in front of him a nudge with his foot.

"Let's get started. Dukes."

Fred stepped forward and picked up one of the balls. He liked throwing events, which were probably the only track events he actually enjoyed. He may not be a runner, but he had strength. The ball flew through the air and landed with a sound thump on the grass.

"Good," said Victor. "Alright, Wyngard."

While the Brotherhood was practising shot put, the X-Men were practising long jump. While waiting their turns, members from both teams would look at the other to see how they were doing. On Tuesday the Brotherhood moved onto the high jump, X-Men the javelin, and so the rotation continued.

* * *

John peered over Remy's shoulder while he stirred the contents of the pot during their Thursday Home Economics class.

"How's it going?" John asked.

"Not too bad," Remy replied. "Although I think I might have put too much sugar in. Oh well, that just means lots more caramel to eat."

"Yay! Extra caramel," John cheered.

Remy chuckled and nodded towards John's own project. "How are your tacos coming?"

"I can cooks meats," John said proudly.

"Very good."

John chuckled wickedly. "I has hot sauce."

"Oui, you've mentioned that about thirty-five times already."

"Hehe, hot sauce. Nom nom nom."

Remy snickered. Not long thereafter, Ororo came past to check on their progress and made approving noises before moving on to check on the next pair of students. When at last the caramel was done, Remy pulled out the moulds and began to fill them with the mixture. It turned out he was right about the sugar and he was glad that he'd thought to arrange extra mould trays.

"Done yet, Remy?" John asked, peering over his shoulder once more. "Tacos are done."

"I'll be right there, almost done," Remy replied.

"Excellent," John said and gleefully went about putting his precious hot sauce onto his tacos. "Mmm hot saucy goodness."

Remy paused and glanced over at John. A sly grin appeared on his face.

"Hey, John, can I have the hot sauce when you're done?" he asked.

"I'd be more than happy to put some on your tacos," John replied.

"But I don't want it on my... okay I do want it on my tacos, but..." Remy leaned in and gestured to the latest tray of caramels, "think the X-Men might appreciate a peace offering tomorrow?"

A big silly grin appeared on John's face. "I'll just do your tacos."

Once John handed over the hot sauce, Remy carefully added a drop to each of the caramels. Remy knew there were few in the school who shared his and John's love of hot food, so the one drop should be more than what most of the others could handle. Satisfied with his handy work, Remy carefully marked the trays with the hot sauce then joined John for tacos.

* * *

There were mixed feelings about the athletics day. On the one hand, any excuse to get out of going to class. On the other, it was sports and there were plenty of students who would have preferred to have regular classes instead. The students sat in the stands according to which team they were on. The X-Men side was full of yellow, while the Brotherhood side had lots of blue. It was a novel experience for all involved to actually be participating in sports with the other half of the school.

Because of the number of students, the divisions were dictated to by year rather than age. That meant the boys had about seven students competing in each event per division and the girls had three, except for the Juniors, which had four. The teachers shared announcing and judging duties, except for Logan and Victor who concentrated more on their individual teams.

The day started off with the sprinting events, of which Pietro won easily. Remy lost his to Sam while Marie and Jean split their wins, it was quite close. Warren, Remy, and Todd excelled at the jumping events. Remy was particularly good at the pole vault, even breaking the previous record Warren had set for the Junior boys division the year before. Although Remy also did well at the throwing events, Piotr gave him stiff competition on the shot put. Piotr was stronger and capable of putting more power into his throw.

Halfway through the day, the school decided to break up the tedium with a game of tug-of-war. A very, very long rope was brought out, marked with a red hanky in the middle, and as the student body headed to the field Remy and John started spreading the word amongst their teammates. The X-Men took up their half of the rope, while the Brotherhood took up theirs. They waited for Mr Lehnsherr to fire the starting gun...

Bang!

Both teams pulled with all their might, straining on the rope and against the ground, determined not to be pulled over the line.

"Now!" Remy yelled.

The Brotherhood let go of the rope, sending the X-Men sprawling backwards. The Brotherhood laughed heartily but none harder than Victor, who thought it was the greatest, most hilarious thing ever and (as Remy had suspected) wasn't the slightest bit angry about the Brotherhood deliberately losing. Some of the other teachers laughed as well, with varying degrees of success at hiding it, and went about helping Logan check up on the welfare of his students.

After that they returned to the stands to enjoy lunch. Remy, who was sitting close to the gap between the X-Men and the Brotherhood, pulled out the caramels he'd made the day before to share. The caramels were on a few paper plates.

"These are the greatest caramels ever!" John declared loudly. "You should be a confectioner."

"Yeah... no, Pyro," Remy replied good-naturedly.

As Remy hoped, some of the X-Men looked over and became very interested in Remy's goodies. Scott wasn't but he chose that moment to approach anyway.

"I bet you think you're so funny," Scott said, glaring at Remy. "Nevermind people might have gotten hurt with that little stunt."

"Yeah, but no one did," Remy replied nonchalantly. "You need to lighten up. "

Remy pulled out the last plate, the one that had all the caramels containing hot sauce, and held it out to Scott.

"Here, have a caramel," Remy said. "Maybe it'll sweeten your disposition."

"Oooh, can I have one too?" Tabitha asked eagerly.

"Sure. You guys can have the whole plate. We've got plenty," Remy said, leaning over further so that Tabitha could reach the plate.

"No we don't," said Wanda. "You can never have too many caramels."

Remy chuckled. Tabitha pulled off the plastic wrap covering the plate and took one of the caramels before passing the plate on. As Tabitha was the first person to start sucking on her caramel, she was also the first person to taste the hot sauce. Her eyes bulged open and she started fanning her mouth with both hands. She was quickly followed by others reacting to the hot sauce in a similar fashion. The Brotherhood started laughing.

"What you do?" Marie asked.

"Drop of hot sauce," Remy replied, grinning.

"Ugh, you mean that hot sauce that you and John eat way too much of?" Wanda said, turning up her nose. "You are going to kill your taste buds doing that."

"I think mine are already dead," John said and nudged Remy. "Hey, I don't supposed you saved one for me?"

Remy pulled out a single caramel from his pocket, wrapped in plastic. "Enjoy."

"Yay!" John said happily.

He unwrapped it and plopped it into his mouth. Before too long he got the hot sauce as well.

"Oh yes, this is the stuff," John said as he savoured it. "Doesn't go too badly with the caramel either."

"That's what I thought," said Remy.

"You're both sick," Wanda informed them.

They finished off the last of the events and then waited for the final results. Callisto was quite smug about the fact that she kicked Andrea's and Candy's butts at every single event, for the fourth year in a row. Marie and Jean were close in all their events and came first and second in all but the throwing events, which Joanna won. The fourth junior girl, Alison, didn't win a thing. Kitty and Wanda seemed to alternate winning, leaving Lila to come last every single time. The X-Men dominated in the freshmen girls division, mostly because all three girls—Tabitha, Jubilee, and Amanda—were all X-Men.

"And the winner is, with 42 wins to 39..." Professor Xavier announced over the speakers. "The X-Men."

The X-Men cheered wildly.

The Brotherhood then had to suffer the indignity of having to help pack up and clean up while the X-Men left to change, shower, and have their celebratory dinner.

* * *

Remy dropped a bag of rubbish into the bin.

"You wouldn't think we would have generated that much trash," he said to Marie as he shut the lid.

Marie shrugged. "Apparently we do. At least we're all done now, anyway."

"Yeah... so... after I wash my hands, can I walk you home?" Remy asked, waggling his eyebrows.

"I suppose, but make sure you wash your hands thoroughly," Marie replied with a grin. "Who know where they've been."

Remy chuckled. He headed off to the locker rooms, washed his hands and arms well (it was dirty business) and came back out again to find Marie waiting by the door. She smiled at him as he took her arm.

"Shall we?" he said, gesturing to the path.

"Yes, let's," she replied.

The walk was done in silence, they'd gotten close enough that they didn't really need to talk all the time. Of course, it probably didn't help that Remy was figuring out how much alone time they could expect to get that afternoon. He had been really itching for some decent one-on-one time with her.

Remy trailed his fingers up Marie's arm as she opened up the front door.

"You know, chère," he said softly. "This ain't exactly the girls dorm..."

Marie turned the handle and cocked her head at him. "You looking for an invitation?"

"Just saying," he replied with a shrug. "So... when's your father coming back?"

Marie snickered, knowing perfectly well that Logan would be at the celebratory dinner along with the rest of his team, and pushed the door open. "Come on in."

Remy smiled and followed her inside. He looked around the living room with interest as Marie shut the door.

"Nice place," he said.

"Thanks," Marie replied and hesitated.

"Do I get the grand tour?"

Marie snickered and took his hand. "There ain't much to look at, Swamp Rat. Kitchen's over there. Bathroom's there. The bedrooms are just down the hallway. Garage is through that door, that's where the laundry is too."

"Bedrooms down the hall, huh?" Remy said glancing in that direction. "Can I see yours?"

"I don't know. What were you planning on doing once you got there?"

Remy cupped her face in her hands and kissed her soundly.

"I can think of a few things," he said.

"I'm sure of that."

There was another moment of hesitation, then Marie led him down the hall to her small bedroom. Remy gave the room a cursory glanced before turning his attention right back to Marie.

"Well?" she said.

"Way better than the dorm rooms," and on that Remy wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. His lips met hers and he kissed her thoroughly.

Marie kissed him back with just as much eagerness. She wasn't all that surprised when he guided her over to the bed, although they spent much more time sitting on the edge while making out than she expected. Eventually they did end up lying down on her single bed and after a few minutes longer, Remy pulled back a few inches and lifted his hand to her chest.

"May I?" he asked.

Marie blinked in surprised. She definitely hadn't expected him to ask first. She licked her lips. It was tempting. Very temping.

"No," she said, looking away.

Remy lowered his hand and gave a half shrug. "Okay," he said and went back to kissing her.

This confused Marie even more than his asking first.

"You're not going to ask why?" she said between kisses.

"Nope."

"Or even try to change my mind?"

Remy sighed and pulled back to look at her properly. "I ain't Jason, chère. Not my style. If you say 'no' that's fine by me."

Besides, in his experience asking why usually led to the boyfriend subject. And the boyfriend subject was usually his cue to break things off. He really didn't want to break things off with Marie.

"Huh? Not Jason? " Marie asked with a frown.

"You don't know?" Remy inquired curiously. "Huh, I thought Jean told everyone... Well, I guess you only came here this year. Jason and Jean dated for a little while, he tried the 'if you love me you'll sleep with me' line on her. Jean was smarter than to fall for that and after kicking him in the go-nads she made it her mission to make sure none of the other girls here ever dated him."

"Ahh. Nice."

"As I said. Not my style. I can take no for an answer."

"Okay. Okay good."

They went back to kissing and just as Remy thought that everything was going great, Marie stopped him.

"I just... I think you should know—"

"I don't need an explanation," Remy said, mentally begging her to let it go.

"I just don't want to lead you on, or anything," Marie insisted.

"You're not—"

"It's just that I consider it boyfriend territory and you're...not."

Remy closed his eyes and buried his head in the pillow.

"I mean, don't get me wrong, Remy, I really like you," Marie said gently, "and I like dating you, kissing you, and I love hanging out with you... but if you're not going to commit to being my boyfriend then I don't think you should get any of the privileges that come with it."

Silence.

"I ain't trying to force you to change your mind or anything—that would make me no better than Jason—I just want you to know where I stand. You know, so there aren't any misunderstandings or whatever."

He sighed.

"Remy?"

"Fine, message received," he snapped and then mumbled something into the pillow about mood killers.

"There's no need to be rude about it," Marie said with a glare as she sat up. "You're the one being stupid. 'Mon pere doesn't want me dating so I just date around and refuse to call anyone my girlfriend so I can honestly tell him I don't have one.' Yeah, because that's a real mature reason not to commit to someone. Sex, sure, all the damn sex you want. But commitment? Noooooo. That might get you in trouble."

Remy sat up and glared right back at her. "You have no idea what you're talking about. You have no damn idea what's really going on."

"Oh? So what you're saying is that you lied to me?"

"No! I just didn't tell you the whole truth, 'cause the whole truth ain't none of your damn business!"

"That's called lying by omission."

"No, that's called being discreet. I'm not trying to deceive you," Remy retorted shaking his finger at her. "You just couldn't leave it alone, could you? You just had to bring up the damn boyfriend subject."

"Hey! You made it clear to me we weren't going to have that kind of relationship! Forgive me for making sure we both know what 'not that kind of relationship' entails," Marie snapped back at him.

"You made your point already."

"Yeah? Really? 'Cause you don't seem to be getting it. I say the word 'boyfriend' and you freak out like I'm making demands on you! News flash, Swamp Rat, I ain't trying to manipulate you."

"Oh sure, you're not trying to manipulate me. Yeah, okay, I notice you only bring it up now, when we're alone in your bedroom. You could have brought it up any time before this, but no, you had to bring it up right now."

"What kind of planet do you live on? Is that really what you think of me?" Marie demanded. "I never said anything before because it never came up before! We were always stealing moments in janitor's closets and gym class, lunch and lots and lots of public places."

"You know what? I just don't need to deal with this," Remy replied, stalking towards the door. "We're over."

"Fine! I didn't want to see you any more anyway."

"Fine!"

Remy put his hand on the door handle and stopped. He turned on his heel and in one swift movement walked back to Marie, grabbed her and kissed her. Marie kissed him back. It was a very angry, wanton kiss, and when at last they looked at each other they realised neither one of them wanted it to be over between them.

"You have to promise not to tell anyone," he said urgently.

"I wouldn't dream of it," Marie assured him.

"It's embarrassing."

"I won't laugh."

"You'll hate it. You'll hate the truth," he said desperately. "Please don't hate me too."

"I could never hate you."

Remy took a deep breath. "I'm getting married."

Marie stared. Remy licked his lips.

"Her name's Bella Donna. She's my best friend. We've been friends for longer than I've been adopted. Our parents saw how well we got along and decided to arrange a marriage between us to end the feuding between our rival... families."

Marie blinked. "Arranged marriage... Rival families? I... You..."

"I know it's sounds crazy. Cliché, even, but it's true." Remy looked deflated. "The wedding is one week after my eighteenth birthday, July next year."

"You're... you're engaged."

"I prefer the term 'betrothed'. 'Engaged' implies I have a choice in the matter."

Marie pushed away from him and paced the room. Remy watched her in despair.

"I can't believe it... I..." she said. "And... and you've been dating other people? Having sex with other people all this time? Oh hell, I've been fooling around with an engaged man."

"No-no, it's not like that. It's not cheating," Remy was quick to insist. "Belle and I have an arrangement. We agreed that it was okay to see other people as long as we were honest with each other about who we were seeing, we're extra sure of protection during sex, and we don't enter any boyfriend/girlfriend relationships. That's as much to protect us as you. I... I don't want to lead you on either."

Marie rubbed her forehead.

"And you're really being on the level with me?" she asked. "This isn't some tale? I mean, it's not that I don't believe you, it's just... this is crazy..."

"Rogue," Remy said as he put his hands on her shoulders. "You don't think I would date you for real if I could? Or that I couldn't come up with a better story than that? It's an arranged marriage! It's humiliating just thinking about it, let alone saying it out loud. You... you won't tell anyone, right?"

If nothing else convinced Marie that he was being honest with her, it was the look of genuine fear in Remy's eyes. She lifted her hand and flicked a lock of his hair out of his face.

"Not a word, I swear," she said, "but, Remy... you realise there's absolutely zero chance of us having sex now, or ever, right?"

"I got that idea, yeah," Remy replied, sounding relieved.

"Good," she said, paused, then added with a sly smile, "Will it make you feel better if I told you I never slept with Cody either, and I thought I was going to marry him?"

Remy laughed. "Actually, yes."

Marie smiled shyly at him but before she could say another word her bedroom door opened. Marie and Remy stared at horror at Logan standing there. Remy felt sick. How long had he been there? _How much had he overheard?_

"You should go," Logan said coolly to Remy.

Remy cleared his throat and let go of Marie.

"Yes sir," he quickly scampered from the room.

Logan turned his gaze to Marie, who met his eyes with determination, bracing herself for a lecture on having a boy in her room. The front door closed and the words that came from Logan's mouth were the last ones she ever expected to hear from him:

"I'm proud of you, Anna."


	21. Stereo Hearts

**Chapter 21: ****Stereo Hearts**

Remy sought out Marie's company first thing the next day, which wasn't easy as the first thing she liked to do was go out riding with Wanda. As usual, he and John awaited their return. Remy was feeling sick with fear about what Logan may have heard but John didn't seem to notice that anything was amiss with his friend, or at least didn't say anything.

The girls finally returned from their ride and Remy managed to steal Marie away from the group.

"What did he overhear?" he asked her quietly and urgently.

He realised he could have broached the subject electronically the night before but he didn't want anything about his situation written down.

Marie shook her head. "Sorry sugar, subject never came up, and I never asked. All he said to me after you left was that he was proud of me. He hasn't said a word about it otherwise."

"Merde," Remy muttered under his breath.

Marie frowned. "You're really worried about this."

"This was something I trusted you with," Remy hissed at her, "not him. I would have kept my mouth shut if I had any idea..."

Marie stroked his cheek. "Look, I'll see if I can find out anything—without telling him anything, that is."

Remy nodded. "I'd appreciate it."

* * *

Remy was so wound up, Marie's promise didn't do very much to alleviate his fears and he found himself hovering by the gym during Kitty's martial arts session with Logan. He waited until Kitty departed and since Marie hadn't arrived yet, Remy decided he should just get it over with and ask Logan himself. He took a deep breath and stepped inside, striding over to him with false confidence.

"Class is over, kid," Logan said upon Remy's entry.

"Yes, I realise that, sir," Remy replied politely, trying to keep a lid on his nervousness. "I just wanted to ask you about last night."

"Nothing to talk about," Logan said gruffly. "You just stay out of my daughter's bedroom from now on."

"I will, I just... How much did you overhear?"

Logan remained silent for a moment.

"Nothing," Logan replied and Remy tensed knowing that couldn't possibly be true. "I didn't hear a thing."

"Then how'd you know I was in there?" Remy demanded, irritated at the blatant lie. "I'm not stupid, Coach Howlett. I know you overheard at least a little."

Logan sighed, realising that he'd have to set him straight.

"Look, kid," Logan said. "That conversation wasn't any of my business. I've already said everything I was going to say about it to Marie. You don't need to be afraid of me."

"I'm not afraid," Remy insisted.

Logan snorted contemptuously. "Just say out of her bedroom, or I'll give you real reason to be afraid, Remy."

Before Remy could reply, he heard footsteps behind him and turned to see Marie arriving. She gave him a curious look

"Ahem, well," Remy said. "I guess I'll leave you guys to your class."

"Appreciated," Logan replied.

Remy gave Marie a nod, hoping she would take his meaning that she didn't need to talk to her father about the night before any more. As he departed the gym, a smile drew on his lips. That would have to be the first time Logan had ever called him by his first name.

* * *

Tabitha sat on the sidelines of their volleyball game a few days later feeling completely bored. Since there was one more member of the X-Men than the Brotherhood, the X-Men had a reserve and lucky her, she ended up being it this time. It was boring, boring, boring. Blah.

One of the balls went whizzing past Kitty like she wasn't even there, scoring a point for the Brotherhood.

"Oh, come on," Tabitha said scornfully. "How could you miss that? It was right there!"

Kitty flashed a glare at Tabitha before turning back to the game. Tabitha sighed irritably and propped her head up on her hand, her elbow on her knee, and watched the ball being served. It crashed into the net.

"Booo, you call that a serve?" Tabitha said. "I call that a waste of time!"

"Smith," Logan said with a warning growl.

Tabitha settled into irritated silence for awhile, the Brotherhood continued on their winning streak.

"Hey Remy," Tabitha called as the ball headed back over the net towards the Brotherhood. "Your mama wears army boots."

Remy snickered as he hit the ball back over the net. "Nah, my mama was too busy being a prostitute to wear much of anything."

Tabitha laughed. It contented her for a little longer.

"Hey, Todd," she said after awhile. "Your mama's so fat, when she gets into an elevator it has to go down."

"Hey!" Todd objected while everyone else giggled.

"Smith," Logan said, glaring at her. "That's enough."

Tabitha sighed loudly. "But this is soooooo boring."

"Keep it up and I'll give you something to do," Logan replied in a tone that told Tabitha she wouldn't like it. At all.

Then Jason got hit in the face with the ball.

"Oh yeah, right in the kisser," Tabitha said. "You're gonna be drinking from the other side of your face, ya loser."

"Alright Smith, you're doing laps," Logan said. "Start running."

Tabitha grumbled as she stood. "How many?"

"Until I say to stop."

"Aww man."

* * *

It came to the Brotherhood's attention as they went outside for their weekly one mile run that certain members of the X-Men, namely Kurt, Bobby, Jamie, Piotr, Kitty, Jubilee, and Tabitha, were taking their time leaving the locker room. The gap wasn't much, and might have gone unnoticed, but to experienced pranksters like Remy and John—who were expecting a revenge prank—the delay was rather suspicious.

"What do you suppose they did?" John asked while at the starting line next to Remy.

"Too many possibilities," Remy replied. "I guess we'll find out."

If any of them hoped they might overhear any of the X-Men discussing the prank during the run, they were mistaken. Upon their return to the locker rooms, the Brotherhood—or at least the ones who had cottoned onto a prank being laid—entered with trepidation. Remy scanned the curtain and the curtain rod, a part of him was certain that the curtain had been moved, but there didn't appear to be any sign of anything attached. He studied it carefully, but discreetly, and couldn't see any sign of fishing line or similar, and since none of the other Brothers had flipped out upon entering their cubicles, he figured it was safe enough.

Once inside, he looked around the dry area, but couldn't see anything out of place. He opened up his locker from the side but nothing sprung out of it. Upon inspection of this things, he could see nothing wrong. He undressed, shoved his things back into the locker, and eyed the shower. He saw the edge of the clear tape covering the shower head roughly the same time he heard Jason yell.

"Tape on the shower head!" Remy yelled. "Makes the water spray everywhere but down."

"Oooh nice one!" John called back.

"Don't tell me there's been another prank?" Scott said.

"Thanks for the heads up, Remy!" Pietro said.

"No problem," Remy replied. "Hey, you guys do this to the girls as well?"

"Oh," Bobby said wickedly. "You can just bet we did."

Meanwhile in the girls locker room:

"Alright! Which one of you stupid bimbos is responsible for this?" Callisto demanded, wrapped in her towel and brandishing the tape. "I will kill you! Do you understand me? Kill you until you're dead!"

Stifled and nervous giggling answered her.

"It's not funny!" Callisto yelled.

"Damn straight," Wanda agreed. "Now my gym clothes are all wet."

"What happened?" asked Jean.

"Oh, like you don't know!" Callisto sneered at her.

"Clear packaging tape on the shower head," Marie informed her. "Walls got sprayed. And I got hit in the face."

"Oh, lovely," Jean replied.

"Of course you would think so," Callisto said, stalking over to Jean's cubicle.

Callisto pulled open the curtain. Jean gave a cry of alarm and pressed her shirt to her chest.

"Hey!" Jean objected. "Beat it, Callisto. I'm trying to get dressed here. I wasn't in on this stupid prank."

The girls glared at each other.

"Jean wasn't in on it, Callisto," Wanda said. "Leave her alone. It's the other three you have to deal with."

"Well," Kitty said loudly, stepping quickly out of her cubicle with her bag over her shoulder. "All done here, gotta go."

Tabitha and Jubilee quickly followed suit. Callisto would have loved to have followed and beaten the crap out of them but she was only wearing a towel. Angrily she returned to her cubicle to change.

"Thank you, Wanda," Jean said when she emerged from her own cubicle a moment later.

Wanda waved a hand as she left with Marie. "Forget it."

* * *

Victor growled under his breath when he came outside for gym class and noticed the X-Men's big orange water cooler jug. Now he remembered that thing he kept forgetting. He turned on his students and his eyes landed on Wanda.

"You, Maximoff," he said. "Go fill up the water cooler."

Wanda glanced over at their cooler, and then back at Victor.

"Really?" she asked disdainfully. "You want me to carry that thing full of water? Does it look like my nickname is 'Muscles'?"

Victor glared at her.

"Allerdyce," he said, and nodded towards Wanda. "Go help Muscles here fill up the water cooler."

Wanda rolled her eyes. John coughed and quickly trotted over to the empty water cooler. Wanda joined him as he picked it up and they headed inside to fill it up.

"So, Muscles—" John started.

"You call me that again and I'll hit you," Wanda deadpanned.

John closed his mouth and they walked the rest of the way in silence. He pulled the lid off and they began the tedious task of waiting for the cooler to fill up.

"So, good way of getting out of volleyball for a while, am I right?" John said.

"Yeah, I guess."

"I hate volleyball," John said, and when Wanda didn't reply straight away, "heck, I hate sports in general."

"Join the club," Wanda replied.

"Really? But you're really good," John insisted. "I don't think you ever miss."

Wanda shrugged. "Doesn't mean I enjoy it, and I do miss occasionally."

"Sure you do, y'know, when the stars are in alignment."

Wanda laughed and John grinned at her, pleased at her reaction. It was so rare that he ever had a moment alone with his crush. There was usually someone else around and he never really knew what to say to get her alone... or even what he would do if he did! This was a fact that confounded him seeing as if he were writing this scene he could spin it at least three dozen ways no problem. Ideas, he had. Practical skills, not even.

He was pleased that they did seem to be getting closer now since he and Remy had been hanging around so much with Marie and Wanda.

The laughter passed and John tried to think of another joke. Anything to hear her pretty laugh again.

"Hey, what do you get if you cross an elephant with a kangaroo?" he asked hopefully.

"Umm, I don't know," Wanda replied. "What?"

"Big dents all over Australia."

Wanda snickered. Encouraged, John decided to tell another one, "What do you get if you cross a sheep and a kangaroo?"

"No idea."

"A woolly jumper."

"Oookay."

"Because a jumper is what we call a sweater in Australia..." John said, nervously trying to read her expression. He sighed. "Never mind."

"You Aussies are weird," Wanda informed him.

"Yeah? Well, you Americans are crazy," John retorted.

"I'm not American," Wanda replied coolly. "I'm Romanian."

John opened his mouth, closed it, opened it again and said, "The European accent should have given it away, huh?"

"You'd think so."

"I'm just used to everyone here being American so... yeah... uhh... sorry," his dialogue was falling all over the place with no chance at fixing it in editing.

"Kurt and the von Struckers are German. Piotr is Russian. Amanda is-"

"Okay! I get the point. I'm stupid," and absolutely sucked at improv.

There was a pause, then Wanda said, "I don't think you're stupid."

John hesitated. "You don't?"

"No."

An awkwardness followed, one that was swiftly dealt with by the realisation that the cooler had finally filled up. Retreating to the safer prospect of professional conversation, together they lifted the now rather fully and heavy cooler and began the trek back outside to their class.

* * *

John looked at his reflection in the bathroom mirror that Saturday and eyed himself speculatively.

"So, Wanda," he said, trying to sound suave. "How'd you like to go out with me sometime?"

He pulled a face at himself then tried again.

"Wandy-baby, how'd you like... Okay that's just crap." He sighed irritably. "Wanda, we've know each other for awhile now and I was wondering—"

He was cut off by a knock at the door. He was partially thankful that he was stopped before he continued with the travesty of something so cliché but at the same time it was old and used because it worked, right? With a grumble he headed out of the bathroom and opened his bedroom door to see Remy standing there.

"Hey Remy," John stepped out into the hall and closing the door behind him.

"Hey," Remy replied.

John sighed as they walked down the hall to the elevator. "Hey, Remy..."

"You just said that."

"Huh? Oh, right. I... Damn now you've made me forget what I was going to say!"

Remy chuckled lightly as he hit the elevator button. "I'm sure it'll come back to you."

"Right," John took a deep breath while the doors opened. "I was wondering... umm..."

Remy waited patiently as the elevator travelled down.

"How do you ask out a girl?" John asked. "You seem so good at it."

Remy grinned broadly at John. "Ah ha! Has someone finally decided to ask out Wanda instead of mooning over her all the time."

"Shut up," there was a pause. "And yes."

Remy chuckled and clapped John on the shoulder, the Aussie flinching slightly at the movement but Remy was oblivious in his deviousness. "First of all, you have nothing to worry about. Wanda's hot for you. I can tell."

"You can?" John asked as they headed out of the residential building. "How?"

"You just can. Well, except you apparently," Remy replied. "All you have to do is ask her with confidence."

"Yeah, sure," John said glumly, "'cause that's so easy to do."

"Asking girls out _is_ easy," Remy insisted.

"That's easy for you to say. You ask girls out all the time," John pointed out bitterly. "Well, maybe not this year anyway. You've been with just Marie the whole time. Kind of a record for you, isn't it?"

Remy shrugged. "I guess. It's not like she's my girlfriend or anything."

John snorted. "Yeah, right."

Remy cleared his throat. "Look, you have nothing to worry about asking out Wanda. She'll say yes."

"But what if she doesn't?"

"She will."

_"But what if she doesn't?"_

"Pyro, you've got this. Trust me."

John muttered something under his breath about plot points in reply. Not long thereafter they arrived at the stables and Remy was pleased that he timed things perfectly for that was the exact moment Marie and Wanda were departing.

"Hey, Rogue," Remy said, moving forward to take her hands. "I'm going to whisk you away from Wanda for awhile."

"Oh yeah?" Marie replied with a raise of her eyebrow, "and do what?"

"Nothing in particular. I just need to give Pryo here some alone time with Wanda, 'cause he has something very, very important to ask her," Remy said, grinning.

"Remy!" John hissed at him. He wasn't ready yet.

Remy gave John a thumbs up with one hand while the other took Marie's. Marie covered her giggle with her free hand.

"Go for it," Remy said. "You can do this, I promise."

Chuckling, Remy led Marie away leaving John to clear his throat anxiously and look everywhere except for at Wanda.

"So," Wanda said when the awkward silence dragged out. "You had something you wanted to ask me?"

"Oh yeah, umm, right," John replied nervously. "Umm, well, see the thing is... I was wondering..."

Wanda chewed her bottom lips as she waited with her own brand of nervousness. John cleared his throat.

"If maybe... would you... perhaps... consider..." John took a deep breath. He just had to kill his inner editor and get this over with, "maybe going on a date with me sometime?"

"Sure, I'd love to," Wanda replied, feeling giddy with excitement. Her crush was asking her out! "Where would you like to go?"

John's initial excitement at hearing Wanda agree was immediately dampened by the realisation that he hadn't actually considered making any first date plans. Again, he had ideas but no way to know what was truly practical at this stage. He opened his mouth but no words came out. Wanda looked at him curiously, but before she could say anything more John turned and bolted.

"Remy!" she heard him yell. "Help! She said 'yes' and now I don't know what to do!"


	22. Clothes Off!

**Chapter 22: ****Clothes Off! **

"Making a mountain out of a mole hill," Remy said with a smirk later over the dinner table.

"Shuddup," John replied.

"I kept telling you it's easy."

"This coming from the guy who never gets rejected."

"Don't be stupid. I've been rejected more times than I can count," Remy said.

"Really? You?" Marie asked, batting her eyes at him. "I can't believe it."

"The eyes freak some people out," Remy replied with a shrug, then pointed a finger at John. "Trust me, you do not know rejection until a fille has turned down a request for a date by screaming her lungs out at the sight of you."

"Aww," Marie said sympathetically.

Remy shrugged.

"I got over it," he said and glanced back at John. "Life's too short to waste time worrying about being rejected. May as well go for it."

"Life's short?" Wanda repeated. "Kind of a morbid sentiment for someone who's sixteen."

"Some people out there never live long enough to see a meagre five years, chère," he said. "So, have you decided what you're doing for your date yet?"

"We thought we might go to a movie Saturday if we can find someone to scab a lift off," John replied.

"Well, normally I'd recommend Warren, but he hasn't been all that inclined to drive me around lately," Remy said with a smirk. "Do you think it's the pranking?

John chuckled, "Might have to go with Plan B then, on campus picnic."

"I dunno," Remy said thoughtfully, "is that romantic enough for a first date?"

"It will be, mate," he winked, "good food, candles, a few other surprises."

"Kinky," Remy teased.

"You know," Wanda purposely ignored both of them, "Warren hasn't thrown many parties this year."

"You just miss the Italian Crostoli," Marie said knowingly.

"Of course."

"Hey Roguey," Remy said. "Are your dad and Ms Monroe on a date tonight?"

Marie shook her head. "Next Saturday night."

"Cool," Remy replied thoughtfully.

* * *

Victor waited impatiently as his team gathered together on their side of the Olympic-sized swimming pool, all dressed in blue swimwear. For the girls, this meant one-pieces. They could wear bikinis if they so desired outside of school hours but not during. Only John looked any different from the rest of the team, choosing to wear a white t-shirt with his blue board shorts.

"Why you wearing a shirt?" Todd asked him as they walked over.

"I think the more important question is," John replied, "why _aren't_ you wearing a shirt? You've probably slacked off on the sunscreen as well. Australia has one of the highest rates of skin cancer. Us kids were always being told to Slip, Slop, and Slap."

"What?" Todd said, perplexed.

"Slip on a shirt. Slop on some sunscreen. Slap on a hat," John said informatively. "You may mock me now but I will not be the one getting melanoma... or sun burn for that matter."

Remy snickered.

"What you laughing at, goggles-boy?" John said.

Remy grinned at him. His tinted goggles made it possible for him to go swimming without aggravating his light-sensitive eyes.

"We ain't in Australia, _mate,_" Remy said pointedly.

"Yet you still think tanning your skin is healthy, _mon ami_," John retorted.

Both of them chuckled and then they were standing in front of Victor, ready to begin their first swimming class of the year.

* * *

Marie and Wanda were busy watching a movie on Saturday night while Logan and Ororo were out on their date, when there was a knock on the front door. Wanda gave Marie a curious look and Marie got up to answer the door. She expected to see an adult.

"What in the world are you two doing here?" Marie demanded, frowning at Remy and John. "Are you outta your cotton-picking minds?"

"Absolutment," Remy replied, stepping inside and wrapping his arms around Marie. "That's why we're here, because our minds have been with you two lovely ladies this whole time."

"You are so—" Marie got no further for Remy chose that moment to silence her with a kiss.

John coughed and walked in. He smiled shyly at Wanda, still finding it hard to believe that she was actually his girlfriend even after a week and one date. Though, despite the gummy frogs incident which will never be spoke of again, it had been a pretty good date.

"So, nice night isn't it?" John said.

"Delightful," Wanda replied. "How'd you get out of the dorm?"

"Remy's not the only one who can climb through windows."

"Heh," Wanda said and cocked her head towards Marie and Remy. "Are you two going to suck face all night?"

Remy broke away and replied while keeping his eyes on Marie. "Don't tempt me."

"I'm quite sure you're already tempted," Marie replied.

"Perhaps," Remy said, grinning at her. "Pyro and I were thinking about going for a swim in the lake. Would you two like to join us?"

"I hardly brought anything to go swimming in when I came here tonight," Wanda said with a frown.

"I bet you even money I can get into your bedroom and get anything you need without getting caught," Remy said, his eyes bright with challenge.

"Or you could just borrow something from me," Marie said, leaning on the back of the lounge behind her. "I mean, I'm up for a little swim at the lake if you're interested."

Wanda pondered it for a moment, then gave Remy a grin. "Alright, let's see you try it."

The girls stopped their movie and while Marie headed to her room to change, Wanda and John followed Remy partway to the girl's dorm. They watched as Remy climbed up the side of the building to Wanda's bedroom window.

"John, can I borrow your phone for a second?" Wanda asked.

"Oh, uhh, sure," John replied, fishing it out of his pocket. "Why?"

"I just realised I haven't given you my number yet," Wanda replied.

"Oh hey, yeah," John said eagerly and he opened up his contacts list before handing the phone to her.

Wanda tapped in her phone number, then stopped to smile at John. "You mind if I try ringing my number? You know... just to make sure it works?"

"I guess not," John replied. "Where's your phone?"

Wanda grinned at him as Remy got through Wanda's window. "I left it in my bedroom."

John looked at her, then at her window, and back at Wanda again with a great big smirk on his face. "Do it, do it."

Wanda pressed the call button and they both watched the window eagerly. It was after lights out, so everyone should have been asleep, but it was early enough in the evening for Agatha to still be doing spot checks. Sure enough, about a minute after Wanda rang her number, the light went on in her room.

John and Wanda waited a little while after the light went out, but figuring Remy had gotten himself caught, they made their way back to Marie's place. She had changed by then and chuckled when they reported what they'd done.

"He's just going to love you guys," she said.

Still for going to the lake, John went into the bathroom to change while Marie and Wanda waited in the lounge room.

"So, you and Pyro got up to mischief together," Marie said teasingly. "Does that make this your second date?"

"Ha ha, funny," Wanda replied, paused, and asked, "Does it?"

Marie chuckled, then sighed. "I envy you."

"What? Why?"

"Well, you know, you and Pyro..."

Wanda looked at Marie curiously for a moment, then nodded with understanding. "Remy's 'I'm not your boyfriend' policy, huh?"

"Yeah," Marie replied wistfully. "I mean, I like him, and I don't really have a problem with casual dating but..."

"But you'd think he would have gotten over his commitment issues by now?"

"It's not that," Marie said, mindful of not sharing Remy's secret. "It's more that I don't feel like we're going anywhere. You and Pyro... you've just gotten together and right now anything's possible for you guys. You could be together for years for all I know. But Remy and I? I have a feeling after we graduate we're never going to see each other again and he's just going to be that guy I had a fling with in high school. We're not going anywhere and it all feels a little... pointless."

Wanda opened her mouth to reply to her friend after her forlorn speech when John emerged from the bathroom in his shorts and shirt.

"Alright, mates," he said. "Let's go."

Marie grabbed the towels and Wanda opened up the front door to leave.

"BOO!"

"Ahh!"

Remy cracked up laughing as John, Wanda, and Marie recovered from the shock of him jumping out at them.

"You should have seen looks on your faces," Remy said gleefully, tossing Wanda's bikini to her. "You might want this."

"Oh come on. I thought you got caught by Agatha for sure," Wanda said grumpily.

"Right," Remy said. "Like I'm really going to get caught with my hands in a girl's underwear drawer. Uh huh, yeah sure. Better luck next time. Although I will give you points for coming up with that plan on short notice."

"Why thank you oh gracious one," Wanda replied cynically.

It was then Marie and John's turn to wait for their friends to change, which they largely did in silence. Marie did ask him why he was wearing a shirt when there was no danger of sun burn being that it was dark outside. He simply shrugged and said he was used to it which she supposed made sense.

Finally the four headed out to the nearest shore of the lake. The four waded out into the water and wasted little time in getting in to their necks. It was a little cool out, the warmer weather hadn't quite set in yet, but once they were in the water it was quite pleasant.

Remy loved being out at night. He liked that he could go out, swim, and not have to worry about getting blinding headaches or anything. He frequently went out after lights out, although he was always careful to get back in plenty of time to have a long enough sleep so that no one caught onto his late nights.

Marie wasn't quite sure how Remy did it but he found a way to draw her away from John and Wanda. Not that she minded. She was more than happy to give John and Wanda some alone time. Remy kissed her gently in the water.

"So, uhh," he said quietly. "I was thinking—"

"Did it hurt?" Marie asked cheekily.

"Heh, non," Remy replied. "We're going to have to run this by our parents first but... but I was hoping maybe you'd like to come visit me over the summer?"

Marie blinked at him in surprise. "You do?"

"Sure. I..." he hesitated. "I don't want us to graduate next year and never see each other again."

Marie paused and eyed him speculatively.

"You overheard," she stated.

"Well, I was waiting in ambush," Remy replied slyly. "But in all seriousness, Rogue, I... I like you. And I'm really sorry we can't, you know, take things to the next level or anything. But that doesn't mean graduation has to be the end."

"I guess if we omit all the kissing we could probably manage friends," Marie said.

"Yeah, I think we could too," Remy said, leaning in towards her, "but let's not omit the kissing just yet."

Marie giggled and Remy made his point by kissing her. It felt so good to be in each other's arms.

"I was thinking," Remy went on, "that since my birthday is in July that might be a good time to arrange for you to come over. I think I'd be more likely to convince him to let you come over if it was a birthday thing."

Marie nodded slowly. "I'll run it by Dad, but..."

"Don't hold my breath?"

"Yeah. I mean, I am planning on visiting my Aunt Irene in Mississippi, so we might be able to swing something, but, yeah." Marie shrugged.

"Well, it doesn't hurt to ask."

After a time they made their way back to the shore and found their towels. John and Wanda saw them and waded towards them although they didn't get out of the water.

"Rogue and I might head in," Remy said as he wrapped his towel around himself.

"Man it's cold," Marie said, shivering. "I think some hot chocolate would be a really good idea."

"Seconded," Wanda called from the water.

"Thirded," Remy agreed with a grin.

"Ha ha!" John declared. "This is what you get for wearing bikinis and budgie smugglers in the middle of the night."

"Budgie smugglers?" Marie repeated.

"He's referring to my speedos," Remy said. "Aussie slang."

"Ahh. Come on, let's get inside."

"We'll follow you in a minute," Wanda told them. "Give you guys a chance to get the hot chocolate started."

"Okay."

As Marie and Remy headed back, Wanda turned her attention to John.

"So, umm, this has been nice," she said.

"Yeah," John replied.

"It's a pity we have to get out."

"Yeah."

There was a long pause. Finally Wanda gave a sigh and looked towards their towels on the shore. "Well, I guess we should get going."

"Yeah."

They headed towards the shore. John dashed on ahead and picked up Wanda's towel so he could wrap it around her as soon as she got out of the water. She thanked him through chattering teeth. John wrapped his own towel around both of them and grinned at her. Wanda smiled back. He leaned in towards her, hesitated for the briefest moment, and then gently kissed her lips. She kissed him back. It was a soft kiss, a simple one, but that was magical in its own way.

John pulled away awkwardly and they made their way back to Marie's home in silence. Although neither said a word, both were inwardly quite excited about having their first kiss.

As they walked, John began wishing he'd had stopped to wring out his clothes before wrapping his towel around himself. His friends may have been wearing less but at least theirs didn't hold water the way his did. When they got to the door, John realised he was still dripping like crazy and he told Wanda to go on ahead.

"I'm just going to wring out my clothes," he said.

"Okay."

Wanda stepped inside and headed to the kitchen where she found Remy and Marie now dried and dressed and working on the hot chocolate.

"Hey, good timing," Marie said. "We're just about done. Marshmellows?"

"Oooh, yes please," Wanda replied. "John's still out the front, wringing his clothes so he doesn't wet the carpet."

"Good idea," Remy said, nodding sagely. "Need to make sure Howlett has no reason to believe you gals had guests tonight."

"Agreed," Marie said.

Wanda chuckled. She headed back to the front door.

"Hey, John, marshmellows?" she asked as she pushed the door open

John froze in the middle of wringing out his shirt which dripped onto the grass near the front steps. His bare back was to the doorway and the light from the outdoor lamp shone directly on it. Wanda stared at the vast array of scars on his back.

Not just, 'hey, I rubbed up against a cinderblock wall or my cat really wanted to be fed' scars, these were full blown jagged lines of red and silver scar tissue. There was no pattern, some lines horizontal, others vertical. Though none looked 'fresh', it was easy to see newer ones from older as they overlapped. There was a peculiar one that travelled up his right shoulder blade, it looked hooked, almost like a fireplace poker...

"John, what—" she started to ask as she reached her hand towards him. John jerked away and Wanda pulled her hand back.

There was a very long pause as the man seemed to tremble, refusing to meet her gaze and taking measured breaths. For a moment she wasn't even sure he was still there with her, mentally speaking, but something snapped and he came back to reality. Wordlessly, John gave his shirt a flick, but rather than put it back on he pulled his towel up around his neck and covered himself. He then stalked pass Wanda into the house.

"Hey Pyro, you having—" Remy started to ask as John went by.

"No! No marshies!" he shouted and the bathroom door slammed shut behind him.

Remy and Marie looked at each other and then at Wanda who was quietly making her way up the hall to Marie's room.

"What was that all about?" Marie asked.

"I saw his back," Wanda said as she walked by, not sure what to think or do. "He has a lot of scars, a _lot..._ of scars. They're pretty nasty."

Marie looked at Remy as Wanda closed the bedroom door behind her. Remy shrugged.

"Now that it's come up, I don't think I've ever seen Pyro without a shirt on before," he said.

Before too long, Wanda returned dried and dressed. Marie gave her a mug of hot chocolate with two marshmellows, and shortly after her first sip, John appeared. He didn't look at anyone as Marie gave him his drink, his hand was trembling and it was possible he had been crying. There was an awkward silence.

"So," Remy said finally, deciding that they needed to get past this. "I'm guessing there's a reason why you have a foster father then."

John didn't reply at first, and when he did, his voice was thick with sullen irritation, "Fine. My dad used to beat me. Happy now?"

"Actually, yes," Remy replied with a completely straight face. "Now I know not to go through with my plan to sabotage your shirt so you'd be forced to go swimming without one, just like the rest of us."

John lifted his head and eyed Remy suspiciously.

"You wouldn't dare," John he narrowed his eyes dangerously.

Remy leaned in with a devilish expression on his face. "The only reason why I didn't do anything last year was lack of opportunity. But this year? With all the pranks we've been pulling on the X-Men this year, you never would have suspected me."

"Worse," John said in realisation, "I then would have asked for your help in pulling the prank of the century on the X-Men in revenge."

"And I would have quite happily let them take the blame for it."

"You're evil, you know that right?"

"You'd think the eyes would have given that away by now," Remy replied with a grin. "Come on, lets go watch a movie or something."

The four settled down to watch the movie Marie and Wanda had started to watch earlier. John and Wanda curled up together on one lounge, though Marie would use the term 'curled' loosely, John didn't seem in the mood to get close to Wanda and she respected that under the circumstances. Remy and Marie cuddled on the other sofa and 'cuddled' was too mild a term. Nothing more was said about John's past, in silent agreement that it was not up for discussion.

Once the movie was done, Remy decided it was time for himself and John to go.

"After all, we can't have Howlett finding us here when he gets back from his hot date," Remy said.

"Yeah... there's just one problem," John said.

"What's that?" Remy asked.

"I can climb down the building, but climbing back up is a little harder."

Remy rolled his eyes. "At this time of night you could probably just walk in through the front door."

"The front door is locked on the inside," John pointed out.

"Not for long it won't be," Remy said, and nodded towards their empty mugs. "We need to wash those. And we need to take our clothes and towels out of the bathroom."

"Oh right, I forgot all about those," John said.

The four quickly set about organising things so that it appeared as if Remy and John had never been there. Once the boys left, Marie and Wanda went to bed.

* * *

**JayCee's RedGold** here to let you know I high-jacked this story. See, there it was, sitting all nice and pretty (cause Chellerbelle writes nothing less) and it begged me, _begged me_, to pick up a plot thread that Chellerbelle was unable to fully realize in the finished product (not for a lack of her being awesome, it's just how it happens sometimes). So I went to Chellerbelle and told her she's one accident with a vat of chemicals away from being a supervillain. _Then_ I told her I wanted to write the story of John and Wanda.

With her blessing, and one NaNoWriMo writing challenge later, I have written a multi chapter story that weaves itself in and out of Gym Class Heroes and focuses on John and Wanda's relationship from this point on. Chellerbelle was very supportive, offering bits and pieces of plot points (not just about J/W but R/R and others) that were unable to make it into GCH. We then decided (okay, there may have been a threat and/or bribe involved) to post this as a collaboration seeing as she graciously let me use my awesome beta powers to change a few bits of GCH to fit with ideas I had for my John/Wanda story.

When I said weave, I meant that literally. In the next chapters, events in our stories will be occurring one after the other and side by side. There are several 'this is what John and Wanda are doing while Rogue/Remy do what those two do' but there are also 'this is the event from this perspective'. I attempted to keep any 'duplication' down to a bare minimum so that you're always given something fresh to see but some scenes are just too important.

Starting from this chapter onwards, the end of each chapter will have a cue telling you which chapter you want to read next as they do not necessarily weave exactly one after another (you'll see the same cue at the end of my chapters).

If you are reading this as it is posted then this is why Chellerbelle went with an 'every 2 to 3 days' posting schedule so that you practically get an update every day from one of us. Isn't she smart! (And fiendish, can't forget that.) Occasionally you may get two chapters from the one story two days in a row, as chapter timelines don't precisely match.

If you are reading this after it's been finished then I recommend opening up both stories in separate windows and flipping back and forth.

This assumes though that you want to read more about John and Wanda. This is by no means an absolute requirement. Both stories are self-contained so no worries there. BUT, my story continues after GCH ends and while it follows John and Wanda there is plenty of Rogue/Remy action to go around (cause those two are such divas, getting into everything). I have one Rogue/Remy centric chapter that had Chellerbelle in stiches! (You realize this is flagrant self-promotion.) (Your point is?) (I'm just saying...) (Shush! Wait, how did you get free?) (You didn't think I could write this much about Remy LeBeau and not learn a few things?) (Darn you! Back in the box!) (Hey!)

And so yeah, that's the deal, I hope you enjoy what Chellerbelle and I have made for you. Without further ado... I bring you...

Gym Class Anti-Heroes: fanfiction DOT net /s/8882644/1/


	23. Life Goes On

**Chapter 23: ****Life Goes On**

Just as they had for the track and field events, at the end of the school's swimming season they had a competition day. For each grade, boys and girls, there were short freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly events plus a long freestyle race. There were also two relay medleys (boys and girls), for which Logan and Victor picked their four best students from the entirety of their teams, regardless of year. The competition was close but it was the Brotherhood who won the day.

From swimming, the school moved onto baseball and final year exams. Marie found that the school was apparently of the opinion that the best thing to do between exams was something physical, and thus gym class continued to run, albeit more often and at different times. When the preparation period was over and the final exams began, they had a run in the morning and baseball in the afternoons. The less athletically-inclined complained about this but Marie actually enjoyed it a lot more than she thought she would.

The kitchen didn't serve cheap slop to begin with but they seemed to go all out during final exam week to ensure that the students had nothing but the best, delicious yet nutritious, foodstuffs to eat. Overall, it was the most relaxing exam week Marie ever had to endure and a part of her was almost disappointed when all the exams were over come Friday afternoon.

Marie swung her bat experimentally and then took her place at the plate, bases loaded. Scott stood at the pitcher's mound and Kurt squatted behind her as the catcher. She waited with her helmet on her head and her eyes on the ball.

"Hey batter, batter, batter," Tabitha called slyly from the outfield, ignoring the glare Logan sent her. That man was no fun at all.

Scott gave Kurt a nod, then threw the ball. Marie swung, hit it straight on, then tossed the bat aside as she ran for first base. Only a moment later, Callisto jumped on the home plate and smugly joined the rest of her teammates. The bases were still loaded.

Remy was next up to bat and he amused himself by choosing to bat left-handed. Scott rolled his eyes at this but by then he was used to Remy's antics as a switch hitter. It was such antics which annoyed him to no end. Scott threw the ball and Remy's bat hit it soundly, sending it flying far into right field. Marie bolted for second base, then third, and finally followed Pietro and Wanda over home base with Remy right behind her.

They went to the next inning and Remy was the pitcher, Todd the catcher, and Marie, John, and Pietro were on bases. Wanda was the shortstop while Callisto was in the outfield with Lance, Fred, and Jason. The coaches had decided to put their whole teams on the field instead of holding some in reserve. Scott was first up to bat and Remy irritated him straight off by choosing to pitch left handed.

As the inning progressed, Marie heard the booming of a plane overhead and looked up from first base to watch it. She wished she could fly. If she could fly on her own power, why, she'd fly right up to that plane and plant a kiss on the window right in front of the pilot. Just for fun.

Marie was distracted from her amusing train of thought by Piotr stepping up to the plate. Remy pitched a right-handed throw and Piotr's bat smacked it hard into left field, right past Wanda. Callisto, momentarily distracted and used to Wanda being able to catch everything, didn't even notice it coming at her at first. Belatedly she threw up her gloved hand to catch it...

The ball bounced off Callisto's face. Her bare hand grasped at her eye as she fell back to the ground with a sharp cry. Lance went after the ball while Wanda raced over to Callisto. She knelt by her side as Lance threw the ball to John on second. John fumbled and had to step off the base, by which time Piotr was safe on second and looking towards Callisto with a great deal of concern etched on his face.

"Next time catch the damn ball," Victor yelled as he stalked over to Callisto, no one really sure if he was talking to Callisto or John.

Victor knelt down by Callisto and moved her hand so he could see her face. He swore.

* * *

Piotr and Kitty walked up to Marie's table over lunch the following day.

"Rogue," Piotr said and Marie looked up to meet his anxious eyes. "I was wondering if you'd heard anything about Callisto?"

Marie shook her head. "Sorry, sugar. If Dad's had an update he hasn't told me. She's still in hospital as far as I know."

Piotr nodded and Kitty patted his shoulder. Lance frowned.

"If I hear anything, I'll be sure to let you know," Marie added.

"I'd appreciate it," Piotr replied.

He and Kitty started to walk off when Lance got up and snagged Kitty's arm. She gave an apologetic look to Piotr and he nodded before heading off on his own.

"What you doing hanging out with him for?" Lance hissed at her.

"What?" Kitty asked defensively. "He's my teammate. And he feels really bad about what happened to Callisto. I'm just looking out for him. He's a nice guy."

"Oh, yeah, I'm sure he's _real_ nice."

"He is!" Kitty insisted. "What happened was an accident—"

"That's not what I meant."

"You are such an ass," Kitty snapped at him. "I don't know why I even waste my time with you anymore."

"Oh yeah? Well, maybe I don't know why I bother wasting my time with you," Lance retorted.

"Well, in that case, maybe we should stop wasting our time with each other," Kitty pulled away from him. "We're through."

"Good! I didn't want to date you any more anyway!" Lance yelled after her as she walked away. "Stupid, stinky X-Men!"

* * *

Marie eyed the containers of powdered milk, then looked up at Remy.

"Another prank?" she asked.

"Oh yes," Remy replied deviously.

"How are we using powdered milk in a prank?" John asked. "Also, why are we waiting until now to do it?"

"Because we were falsely accused of the smoke bombs," Remy said determinedly. "We can't let them have the last prank."

"I'm on board with this logic," said John, "but again, I must ask, what are we doing with powdered milk?"

"Easy," Remy said, handing out one container each to Wanda and to John. "We sprinkle the powdered milk on the beds. All the sheets are white so it'll blend in quite nicely. Tonight, they'll go to sleep, they'll sweat, and the powder will get into their pores. They'll reek like sour milk for days."

"Nice," Wanda said, nodding as she inspected the container. "I like this."

"Me too," John said eagerly.

Remy grinned. "Let's do it."

* * *

Logan wrinkled his nose as he looked at his team during gym class on Monday, or more to the point, smelt them. Why they all smelt like sour milk, he didn't know, but it was terrible and they needed to shower more.

"Alright," Logan said. "We're coming up to our big game of Capture the Flag, paintball style. Today, we'll be teaching you how to use the paintball guns and get in a little target practice."

Logan talked them through the safety information first, then demonstrated how to use the guns. Some of them already knew from years previous but in any case it didn't hurt them to be reminded. After all that rigmarole, the X-Men started their target practice.

* * *

Gym class was the only class that continued as normal the week after their exams and the students spent most of that preparing for the big game. Their other classes were largely spent watching movies and enjoying class parties and other such things. After gym class on Friday, everyone was given the chance to leave early to get ready for the prom that night.

A trip was organised to go downtown for all those who wanted to get their hair professionally done and other such details. A few of the girls complained that they should've had more time to prepare but everyone else was satisfied with the time that had been given. Upon their return to the school they got dressed (or bummed around until it was time to get dressed), and at the appointed hour, they made their way to the school gymnasium for the big night. A photographer had been hired, some professional from the City named Parker, and he was busy taking photos at the door as everyone arrived.

Remy was ready to snag Marie the moment she walked through the door. He was in a black suit and tie while she was in a strapless, floor length green gown. Logan wished it wasn't strapless, that was his only complaint, and in any case most of the other girls were wearing strapless dresses as well.

"You look beautiful," Remy informed Marie in a tone that bore no nonsense.

"Why, thank you," Marie replied, leaning into him. "You look quite handsome yourself."

John was equally quick to latch onto Wanda when she arrived. Todd watched on in disappointment.

"It's not fair," he said to Fred. "There aren't enough girls here."

"Yep," Fred agreed, "but hey, graduating. Not my problem anymore."

Todd blew raspberries at him.

Callisto was the last one to arrive. Her black dress looked stunning on her. Unfortunately, more people were looking at the temporary eyepatch over her right eye. During the course of the evening, Piotr did work up the nerve to walk over and apologise but she didn't see fit to respond to that anymore than she had to anyone else's expression of sympathy and interest.

After everyone arrived, the photographer continue taking photos of the dance itself. The music played, there was much chatting, dancing, and consumption of food.

"Remy," Marie said after three dances with him. "Aren't you going to ask anyone else to dance?"

"Why?" Remy asked.

"Well, it's been my understanding that you dance with all the girls at these things."

Remy shook his head and tugged her closer to him. "The only one I want to dance with tonight is you."

Marie had no complaints but she wasn't the only one who noticed that he wasn't exactly making the rounds.

"Hey," John gestured over to their friends with a nod of his head. "You reckon we're finally going to get a boyfriend declaration out of him?"

Wanda considering thoughtfully, watching Remy and Marie dance together. "Well, if he'll admit anyone is his girlfriend, it'll be Marie."

Andrea wouldn't stand for it and made a point of cutting in, insisting that it was her final year and refused to let the night end without a final dance with him. Remy very reluctantly acquiesced.

Partway through the evening, Piotr took a deep breath and made his way over to Kitty. He stopped in front of her and cleared his throat uncomfortably as she looked at him, Kurt at his side.

"Kitty," Piotr said, trying to sound more confident than he felt. "Would you dance with me?"

Kitty smiled brightly. "I'd love to, Pete."

Thrilled, Piotr led Kitty out on the dance floor, oblivious to her throwing a big, excited grin at Amanda. From another corner of the room, Lance glared at them. Amanda's excitement for her friend was quickly replaced by some pleasure of her own when Kurt asked her for a dance too.

Towards the end of the evening, Professor Xavier got up to announce the Prom King and Queen; the honours were pretty much a repeat of the beginning of the school year with Warren and Jean winning the crowns.

* * *

"So, I noticed you and Remy spent a lot of time together tonight," Logan said as he and Marie walked home after the dance had ended.

"We're friends. So?" Marie replied.

"You've been dating. That tends to suggest something closer than friends," Logan pointed out.

Marie sighed. "I know."

They walked in silence the rest of the way. Logan didn't speak again until after he opened up the front door of their home.

"You sure you want to go to New Orleans for his birthday?" Logan asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure," Marie said as she made her way to her bedroom.

Logan grunted and locked up for the night.

* * *

The weekend was largely uneventful, and Monday's gym class was spent going over the where the games of Capture the Flag would be held, and strategising. There would be two games, one in the morning for one half of the school and the other in the afternoon for the other half. This way the students would only be teaming up with those they were used to teaming up with.

Marie's half of the school was first up for paintball on Tuesday. They gathered in their base on the school grounds and suited up in the appropriate protective gear.

"Alright grunts," Victor said, addressing his team. "This is a war. You know the rules, you get shot—directly—you're out. Splatter doesn't count. There will be three rounds in total and everyone will be revived at the end of each round. Now, there may only be nine of you against eleven of them, but being outnumbered by two pathetic little X-Men doesn't mean you can't kick their asses. And by kick, I mean fill them full of paint, you got me?"

"Yes, sir," they all replied, mindful of the fact that in addition to having been outnumbered all year, they were also missing Callisto who was not allowed to participate.

Victor yelled a few more things at them and finally they heard the horn signalling the beginning of the first round. The Brotherhood hurried into position. Fred, Jason, and John took up positions guarding the flag while Remy, Marie, and Wanda, Pietro, Lance, and Todd set out after the X-Men's flag, staying low and under cover as much as possible.

It was only a matter of time before the first shot was fired. This was followed by a number of other shots, and shortly Lance, Pietro, Todd, Kurt, Tabitha, and Jubilee had been taken out leaving only Bobby 'alive' after that particular skirmish. Remy, Marie, and Wanda sneaked up on Kitty, Jamie, and Piotr, who were guarding their flag. While they exchanged fire, Warren, David, Jean, and Scott attacked Fred, Jason, and John.

Marie grabbed the flag and she, Remy, and Wanda ran back for the home base. Sadly, they were shot down by Scott and Jean who had survived the shootout with the Brotherhood's defensive team.

The Brotherhood opted to alter tactics for the second round. Remy, Marie, and Wanda headed carefully towards the X-Men base but stopped and hid in the middle. Meanwhile, Pietro, Lance, and Todd kept to the boundary of the battlefield and sneaked their way behind enemy lines. Lance and Todd fired upon Kitty, Jamie, and Piotr from behind. Pietro, who had opted not to take his gun (leaving it instead with Remy), ran for the flag. He snatched it up as he ran past and continued running towards home. Lance and Todd followed, and Remy (with two guns), Marie, and Wanda covered him, shooting at the X-Men while they were distracted by trying to stop Pietro.

Unscathed, Pietro made it back to home base. He held up the X-Men's flag in triumph.

The X-Men weren't going to let the Brotherhood come up from behind them again. Scott decided to go on the defensive and the bulk of the team laid in wait for the Brotherhood to come to them. The end result was a mighty battle on the X-Men base. Pietro managed to grab the flag again but was shot down. Todd and Marie also made attempts to recapture the flag but were also shot before they could get too far. Meanwhile, Kurt and Kitty sneaked over to the Brotherhood's side, stealthily took out the defence, and grabbed the flag. The remaining Brotherhood were too busy trying to take out the rest of the X-Men and steal their flag to notice straight away, by the time they did, it was too late.

The X-Men had won, two to one. Victor was not amused but the Brotherhood endured his ranting and raving knowing that they couldn't get any more detentions from him now that the year was all but done.

* * *

**Continue** onto Chellerbelle's _Gym Class Heroes_ – Chapter 24


	24. How It Was

**Chapter 24: ****How It Was **

Marie stepped out of her room in her school uniform, reluctantly so with the red blazer on. It was far too hot for jacket wearing. Logan smiled at her.

"Ready for the big day?" he asked.

"I guess," she replied, "but doesn't the big day come next year? You know, when I actually finish school?"

Logan chuckled. "Perhaps it does at that."

They headed out and made their way to the gymnasium where the students, their families, and the school staff were gathering. After being briefly reunited with their families, the students made their way to their seats in front of the stage while their families found places in the bleachers. All the students were dressed in full school uniform, except for the ten seniors, who wore graduation robes and caps.

Having no family to greet, other than Logan, Marie found her seat quickly but watched as the others came in. John was one of the first to join her.

"Your dad not coming?" she asked.

"Oh, he's coming. He's just going to be a bit late," John replied. "It's all good."

Marie nodded.

It didn't take long for the seats to fill up and Marie looked back to see how many more people there were yet to sit down. She froze as her eyes laid on a very familiar woman sitting down in the middle of one of the rows. She gaped at her and couldn't stop staring until Professor Xavier called for everyone's attention. Marie slowly faced forward again.

"Mama's here," she said with a glance at Wanda. "Aunt Irene must have told her..."

Wanda smiled. "I'm happy for you."

Marie smiled back. She was so excited about getting to see her mother again that she hardly paid any attention to the speeches and only applauded absently when the teachers presented awards to particular students for their performance in class. Professor Xavier started by presenting awards to the outstanding students in his English classes.

"...and John Allerdyce."

"Woohoo!" reverberated off the walls as John got up to accept his award, everyone turning their heads to see a man who bore an astonishing resemblance to Ryan Reynolds doing a little dance out in the crowd. "Go Pyro! Go Pyro! It's your birthday! It's your birthday!"

John grinned and pumped his fist at Wade. "Yeah!"

A little later, Victor got up to present his awards, one of which went to Remy for his outstanding performance in gym class. Remy caught the eyes of his family as he walked down from the stage and his brother gave him a thumbs up.

Logan replaced Victor and he halted in the middle of his opening words when his eyes fell on Raven Darkholme. She looked back at him, holding his gaze. Logan felt sick. What was she doing here? She had better not be there to take Marie back. He'd finally made some progress on patching things up with his daughter, he would not stand for _that woman_ breaking her heart again. Abruptly Logan remembered he was in the middle of a speech and went back to his presentation.

Finally, the day moved onto presenting the ten seniors with their certificates. Warren Worthington was named Valedictorian, much to the pleasure of his parents. Professor Xavier then brought the ceremony to a close, inviting everyone to the cafeteria for tea and coffee.

As soon as everyone began to stand, Logan spotted Raven striding for the door and it seemed to him that she was trying to make for an early exit. Odd. Why would she do that if she was here for Marie? Logan noticed Victor go after her and figured whatever was on her mind, Victor had no intention of letting her leave until whatever trouble he was expecting had happened. Logan had no time to think about it as Marie got to his side in record time.

"Mama's here," Marie said eagerly, glancing over to where she had been sitting. "Or... she was..."

Logan frowned slightly as he noted where Raven had been sitting. Kurt was talking to the man she had been sitting next to and there was no mistaking the resemblance, it was his father, Lord Wagner.

"Yeah, I saw," Logan said, having an ugly suspicion he knew what was going on now. "She went this way."

Logan didn't know whether trying to find Raven was a good idea or not but he suspected it was something that needed to be dealt with sooner or later. He led the way through the doors he'd seen Raven depart from and then paused to figure out where she would have gone from there. He hadn't gone more than three feet away from the door when he saw her... sucking face with Victor.

"Mama!" Marie exclaimed the exact same time Kurt said from behind her: "Mother?"

Marie and Kurt looked at each other as Raven jerked back from Victor. Victor smirked just like the cat who'd swallowed the canary.

"That's my mother!" Marie said indignantly.

"That's my mother," Kurt replied "...too?"

"Did we just quote _The Parent Trap_?"

"I think so."

"Anna Marie," Raven said, "darling. It's good to see you."

Logan folded his arms and glared at her. Raven ignored him.

"Oh hell," Marie said, not knowing whether to look at Raven or Kurt. "This is my brother. The one you left me for."

"Left you for?" Kurt repeated, wide-eyed.

"Ahh," said Lord Wagner, giving Logan a long look. "You're the husband."

"_Ex-_husband," Logan replied pointedly. "So, you're the man she took off for. Figures she'd go after someone with money."

"I'm sorry I didn't give you more warning, darling," Raven was still addressing her daughter, "but when Kurt contacted me I felt I should take some time to get to know him."

Logan snorted contemptuously.

"And I felt you hadn't spent enough time with your father," she went on, "so it seemed like a fair exchange."

"Exchange?" Marie repeated, whirling on her. "Exchange!"

"Now, there's no need to thank me," Raven said. "I know how much you missed your father, so it really worked out for both of us—"

"You took off!" Marie yelled, waving her hands at Raven. "You didn't even bother to say goodbye! You just left a crappy little note and Aunt Irene to explain everything!"

"Anna Marie," Raven replied firmly, "this is no time for hysterics. This is no way for a young lady to behave, especially in front of all these people. You're making a scene."

Marie shook her head, ignoring the crowd of people, who, on their way to the cafeteria, had stopped to stare at the scandal in progress.

"I'm making the scene?" Marie screeched at her. "You're making the damn scene! You couldn't even stop to talk to me about Kurt before you left. You didn't even give me the option of going with you and meeting him! Hell, you were probably never intending to tell me about him or Graydon, were you?"

"Ahh, Graydon," Raven said and shot a look at Victor who was wishing he had some popcorn right now. "I can't imagine how you found out about that little reprobate."

Victor chuckled wickedly.

"Mein gott," said Kurt in realisation. "If you're my sister, then that would make Graydon Creed my brother too."

Marie's eyes blazed at Kurt's words.

"You didn't even come here for me, did you? You didn't even know I'd be here. You were here for him!" Marie pointed an accusing finger at Kurt, the boy wishing there were some shadows around for him to hide in. "Were you ever planning on seeing me again?"

"Yeah, Raven," Logan said, giving her a pointed look. "Were you?"

"You stay out of this," Raven said, glowering at him.

"Ahem," Professor Xavier said, wheeling his way into the middle of the group. "Raven Darkholme. A pleasure it is to finally meet you. I'm sure you'll be pleased to know that Marie and Kurt have been doing quite well their first year here. Perhaps you'd like to discuss their progress somewhere a little more...private?"

Raven drew herself up tall.

"No, thank you," she replied. "In fact, I was just leaving."

"Yeah, well, you've always been good at that," said Logan.

Raven threw him a withering glare and stalked off.

"I should like to have a word with you in private, however," Lord Wagner said, walking to Professor Xavier's side.

"Of course," the Professor replied. "Why don't we go to my office?"

"Just the place," Lord Wagner said and glanced at his son. "This way, Kurt."

Kurt glanced back at Marie as he followed his father. He would have liked a chance to talk to her but perhaps that was a conversation better saved for later.

"So, Jimmy," Victor said as the crowd disbursed. "How does it feel knowing that you've been teaching Raven's son this whole time?"

Logan glared at him and didn't answer, instead choosing to turn towards Marie and the cafeteria.

"Is it better or worse than believing Graydon was yours for all those years?" Victor taunted.

"Come on, Anna," Logan said, holding his hand out to his distressed daughter. "Let's go."

* * *

Logan took some time to comfort his angry and heartbroken daughter in the wake of Raven's departure, then they headed to the cafeteria which had been decorated especially for the occasion. In addition to the tea and coffee, the kitchen had also produced a number of plates of fancy finger foods for their guests to enjoy. Everyone was there already, except for Professor Xavier, Lord Wagner, and Kurt who evidentially hadn't come back from their impromptu meeting yet. Logan looked around the room, his eyes settling on an old friend.

"Wade Wilson," Logan said, making his way over with Marie close behind. "What the devil brings you here?"

"I have a kid of course," Wade replied, gesturing grandly to John. "Why else would I come to this fancy-schmancy schooly?"

Logan looked at John, then back at Wade. "You're Pyro's foster father?"

"Yup."

"They let you foster a kid? Seriously?" Logan asked, then muttered under his breath, "Australians must be crazier than you."

"Well, if by 'let' you mean 'accepted an offer they couldn't refuse', then yes, they let me," Wade said cheerfully.

"You guys know each other?" John asked, looking between them.

"Sure!" Wade said, slinging an arm around Logan. "Me and Logan go way back. Same unit."

"Get off me, Wade."

"It's like the old days never ended." Wade sighed and pinched Logan's cheek. "I missed you too, ol' buddy."

Logan and Wade reminisced for a time, then Wade dragged John off so he could meet Wanda and demand to know her intentions towards his kid. While Wade was listing off a string of conditions ("...and I don't even want to hear about you bringing him back before midnight!") and Wanda's family was wondering what kind of mad man she had gotten herself involved with, Remy brought his family over to meet Logan and Marie.

"Coach Howlett? Jean-Luc LeBeau," Jean-Luc said, holding his hand out to Logan.

"Pleasure to meet you," Logan replied, giving Jean-Luc's hand a firm shake.

"And this is Rogue," Remy said, gesturing to Marie, then to Henri. "My brother, Henri."

Jean-Luc and Henri looked at Rogue. Henri immediately covered up his mouth to smother his laughter while Jean-Luc's face turned cold.

"You didn't mention that Rogue was a girl," Jean-Luc said tersely to Remy.

"I do not pick my friends based on their gender," Remy replied loftily. "That would be sexist."

Henri snorted with his hand still over his mouth. Jean-Luc cleared this throat and looked back at Logan.

"I apologise," Jean-Luc said politely. "I'm sure you're aware of Remy's request to invite Rogue over for his birthday."

"I am," Logan replied with a nod. He was still undecided.

"How long have they been dating?"

Remy froze. He hadn't thought of that. He hadn't even considered that Jean-Luc might ask Logan about them dating. He felt sick with horror; all those times they'd flaunted their relationship in front of him in gym class... he was dead. He was so dead.

"Marie doesn't date," Logan said.

"Well, Remy's not supposed to either but—"

"No, you misunderstand," Logan interrupted. "Marie hasn't dated since she broke up with her boyfriend of three years. Ain't that right darlin'?"

"Oh yeah," Marie replied quickly. "You should have seen me after the break up. I was not fun to live with, was I, Dad?"

Logan chuckled and grinned at her. She smiled back. Henri saw relief written all over Remy's face, which was quickly replaced with an expression of innocence when Jean-Luc looked at him.

"My mistake," Jean-Luc said, although the look he was giving his son suggested that he didn't really believe Remy hadn't been dating.

"Anyway, Marie's going to be visiting family in Mississippi just before his birthday," Logan said, paused briefly, and continued, "I'm happy for her to visit, assuming it's alright with you. You're the host."

Marie's face lit up. As far as she knew, he was still thinking about it.

"Please, Poppa?" Remy asked. "I promise I'll be less troublesome than usual."

Henri snickered.

"I find that very hard to believe," Jean-Luc replied, eyeing him warily.

"You would have found it impossible to believe if I'd promised to be good," Remy answered cheerfully.

"Can't argue with that." Jean-Luc sighed and looked at Marie. Logan disliked his measuring gaze and wondered if he'd spoken too soon about letting her go. "Oh, very well. It will only be for a few days at most." He looked up at Logan. "We should probably figure out the logistics."

"Of course. Now? Or would you prefer to mingle a bit more first?"

"We'll talk more later. There are others I wish to speak to and I'm sure there are a number of parents who would like to speak to you, too."

Remy grinned at Marie as he and his family walked off. Marie grinned back, then looked up at her father. She wanted to ask him about covering for them and about what made his mind up, but as Jean-Luc predicted, other parents approached and Logan was too busy discussing gym class and the performances of certain students to discuss such personal matters.

After some time, Kurt, Lord Wagner, and Professor Xavier arrived at the cafeteria to do some mingling of their own.

"Wow," Kitty said to Kurt when they caught up. "I can't believe Rogue's your sister. That's crazy."

"I'm still trying to deal with it myself," Kurt replied. "Why would Mother just take off and leave her like that? And why didn't she ever tell me I had siblings?"

Kitty patted his shoulder sympathetically. "Probably for the same reason she didn't tell Rogue."

Kurt sighed. "I bet she hates me."

"Who? Your mother?"

"No, Rogue," Kurt said, nodding in Marie's direction. "I stole her mother away from her. I didn't mean to, but..."

"Oh Kurt," Kitty said, giving him a half hug. "You had no idea when you went looking for her that this would happen. You had no idea what kind of person she would be. What happened isn't your fault and if Rogue can't see that, then that's her problem."

"I guess so," Kurt replied.

"I know so."

Kurt was quiet for a moment. "I always wanted a sister."

Kitty giggled. "And now you do. I hope things work out."

"So do I."

* * *

Logan was busying helping to clean up after when Professor Xavier approached him.

"Logan," he said. "If I might have a word with you in private."

"'Course," Logan replied.

He set the bag of garbage he'd been filling up aside and followed Professor Xavier out into one of the classrooms across from the cafeteria. Once the door was closed, Logan leaned on the edge of the teacher's desk.

"Lord Wagner expressed some concerns after today's... confrontation with Raven, that Kurt might end up as the target of... bullying," Professor Xavier told him carefully.

"He thinks I might take out Raven's infidelity on the kid?" Logan asked with a frown. "I wouldn't do that."

"I know," the Professor assured Logan. "I told him you have more integrity than to even consider the idea. Still, I thought you should be made aware that he did consider either pulling Kurt from the school, or pushing for you to be fired."

Logan growled.

"I argued that either option would be punishing one of you for something that may never happen and he's agreed to wait for now as long as I keep an eye on things," Professor Xavier continued. "Not that I think anything will happen."

"Of course not," Logan said. "Only wimps take things out on kids. _Lord Wagner_ should be more worried I'd come after him personally."

Professor Xavier paused and eyed Logan warily. Logan looked back at him steadily.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that," Professor Xavier said finally, and he turned towards the door.

"Heh, he's just lucky I didn't know who he was fifteen years ago," Logan said, smirking as he followed the Professor out. "I might have actually done it."

"Not now?"

"No point. Having a love affair with Raven is punishment enough."

* * *

**Continue** onto **JayCee's RedGold** _Gym Class Anti-Hero_ – Chapter 1


	25. Home

**Chapter 25: ****Home**

"And that," Bella Donna said as she walked her fingers up Remy's bare chest, "about brings you up to date."

Remy captured her fingers and kissed the tips. It was the day after his return to New Orleans and he was lounging on his bed with his intended: a pretty, tough-as-nails, blue-eyed girl with small braids in her long blonde hair.

"What about you?" she asked. "The last I heard you were after that Marie girl?"

"Ahh, Rogue," Remy said with a nod. "She goes by Rogue now. And no, we haven't slept together. Probably not going to either, not unless she has a radical change of heart."

Bella Donna nodded. "Oh well, her loss. So, who then?"

"No one. Rogue's the only one I've dated."

"Seriously? Not even that Andrea girl?"

"Not even her. Last girl I slept with was you," Remy replied with a smile and tapped her nose lightly but affectionately.

"Mon dieu, that was Christmas break! How are you holding up?" Bella Donna demanded. "I'd go crazy."

Remy chuckled. "Well, you see, there's this thing. It's called a hand..."

"Shut up, that's gross," Bella Donna said, whacking him, and at the same time climbing over to straddle him. "So, whaddya say we do something about this?"

Remy reached up for her. "Yes, please."

* * *

Marie came down the stairs after having dropped her things off in her room and sat down beside Irene on the lounge. Irene sipped at her tea and put her mug on the coffee table.

"How are things with your father?" Irene asked.

"Good, they're good, I guess," Marie replied and shook her head with a sigh. "I dunno. I was all prepared to hate him when he first showed up but..."

"The bridges are being mended."

"Yeah." Marie was silent for a moment before asking, "Aunt Irene? How come you never told me about Graydon and Kurt?"

"Because you needed to hear about them from your mother, not I," Irene replied.

"Well, that's not how I found out. Not exactly. Uncle Victor told me about Graydon and as for Kurt, well, she showed up on Graduation day for him, not for me. I suppose she didn't know I'd be there. I guess if she had, she wouldn't have come."

Irene reached over and took her dismal sounding niece's hand in hers. "Are you sure it was you she was trying to avoid?"

"I... She _left _me."

"She left someone else first."

Marie shook her head. "She still left me, and she didn't have to. Did it never occur to her that I might want to meet my brother?"

Irene picked up her tea again with her free hand.

"No," Irene replied sadly. "No, I'm afraid it did not."

* * *

Todd was in the garage with three of his friends. He and one of his friends were on guitars while one was one bass, the fourth on drums.

"Okay," said Todd. "We ready?"

"Let's do it!" said the other guitarist.

"And a one, and a two, and a one, two, three, four," the drummer said.

Todd, the other guitarist, and the drummer started to play only for the bassist to interrupt:

"Is it really necessary for you to say one and two twice?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Really?"

"Yes, really."

"Really, really?"

"Umm, guys?" Todd said. "Trying to practice a song here. Hello? Can we argue about semantics later?"

* * *

Cody was a little surprised at the warm hug Marie greeted him with. He was also uncomfortable with the fact his girlfriend was watching on.

"Hey, bitch," Georgia said angrily, stalking over. "Get the hell off _my boyfriend_."

Georgia attempted to yank Marie away. Cody, Carlie, and pretty much everyone else there was unsurprised when Georgia had the wind knocked out of her with little effort on Marie's part.

"It's good to see you," Marie said to Cody without so much as a glance at Georgia. "How have you been?"

"Oh, not too bad," Cody replied as Georgia whined for him to help her up. "What about you? How's boarding school?"

"Not as bad as I thought it was going to be," Marie replied, watching detachfully as Cody helped Georgia. "Actually most of the amenities are better than what they have here. And would you believe I got an A in math this year? An A. Me."

"Wow, that's pretty good, Anna," Cody said.

"It's probably a special school where they give everyone really high grades," Georgia sneered, tugging at Cody's arm. "Come on, Cody. Let's go."

"Umm..." Cody looked between Georgia and Marie.

"Let's go!" Georgia demanded with a glare. "I don't want you hanging out with that uber-bitch."

"Georgia—" Cody started to say.

"It's okay, Cody," Marie said sweetly. "We can talk later."

"You can talk _never_," Georgia insisted. "I _never_ want you to talk to Cody ever again."

Marie ignored her and continued addressing Cody. "She's just sore that no matter how much she might try to erase me from your present and your future, she can never erase me from your past."

"Cody," Georgia said.

Cody cleared his throat, knowing better than to say to Georgia's face that Marie was right.

"Okay, okay," he said to Georgia. "We're going."

"Good!"

As Georgia led him away, Cody turned his head and gave Marie a grin and a wave. Marie grinned and waved back. It was strange. She was so sure that it would be weird seeing Cody with Georgia and she kept expecting the green-eyed monster to show up but it never did. She was neither jealous, and to her even greater surprise, she wasn't even interested in getting back together if—when—he and Georgia broke up. They would always be friends and she was happy with that.

* * *

Fred sniffed speculatively at the contents brewing in the pot, then sampled it with a wooden spoon. After a moment's consideration he added some more spices to it.

He was going to wow his teachers at culinary school, he just knew it. He couldn't wait for his first year to start.

* * *

Kitty typed away intently at her computer, her mind focused on the program she was writing.

"Kitty—"

"Yah!" Kitty exclaimed, and pressing a hand to her chest, turned to look at her father who was standing at the door way. "Oh, hey Dad. You startled me."

"So I gathered," he replied. "You know, you've been on that thing all day."

"I know."

"You want to go out and actually do something?"

"With you?"

"Sure."

"Okay, just let me finish this one bit."

"Don't be long."

* * *

Mindful of his brother's waiting eyes, Remy was careful only to greet Marie with a quick hug rather than a lingering one when they picked her up from the train station. He also restrained himself from kissing her and holding her hand like he wanted to, instead making his hands busy by picking up her luggage.

"Nice to see you again, Rogue," Henri said, giving her a nod.

"Thanks. You too."

He led the way back to his car and kindly opened up the door for Marie while Remy put her bag in the back. There was so much he wanted to say to her but already he was wondering if inviting her over had been a good idea after all. He'd missed her, a lot, but his family would be watching them like hawks and Remy was well aware he wouldn't get to kiss her like he so badly wanted to.

"So," Remy said as Henri drove. "How's your summer been so far?"

"Not bad. Caught up with my old friends, which was nice. You know, it's weird how a year away can make you feel out of the loop," Marie said, "even though we talk on Facebook and stuff..."

"Yeah, I know exactly what you mean," Remy replied, nodding.

"What about you?"

"Nothing exciting," he said, mentally discounting the half a dozen or so different crimes he'd committed in the weeks previous. Marie was not to know that he was a thief from a family of thieves. "Catching up with folks mostly."

Much small talk later, Marie gave a little sigh when they pulled into one of the mansions of the Garden District. Did everyone from school live in mansions?

"Wow," she said as she got out of the car.

Remy grinned and leaned into her. "Rumour has it my great-granddaddy won it in a poker game."

"Remy," Henri said frowning at him and Marie covered her mouth to smother her giggles.

"What?" Remy asked innocently, then quickly retrieved Marie's luggage because Henri could do more than frown at him.

They headed up the stairs and Henri opened up the large front door for them. Marie looked around at the lavishly decorated foyer in fascination.

"I'll show you to your room," Remy said.

"No," Henri said, taking Marie's luggage from Remy swiftly, "_I _will. We'll meet you in the parlour. This way, Rogue."

"Thanks," Marie replied, giving Remy a sympathetic smile as she followed Henri up the grand staircase.

Remy watched her go, then shoved his hands into his back pockets and headed for the parlour. He'd be lucky if he could get a single moment alone with her.

"Oh hey, Mercy," Remy said upon seeing his sister-in-law of one year as he entered the parlour.

Mercy glanced up from filing her nails on a lounge chair by one of the many windows.

"Your girlfriend's here, huh?" she said.

Remy scowled. "She's not my girlfriend."

Mercy looked down at her nails. "Whatever you have to tell yourself, Remy."

"She's not. We're just friends," Remy insisted.

"Look, Remy, the whole arranged marriage thing sucks, I know. I wouldn't be happy either, but—"

"We're just friends! Okay, just because she's a girl does not mean we're dating."

"Remy, we're not stupid—"

"I never said you were!"

"Remy. I can understand you dating other girls and as long as you're at boarding school it's very easy for the rest of us to turn a blind eye to whatever relationships you might have going up there," Mercy said tersely, frowning at him. "Here, at home, it's a whole other story. We have responsibilities and a contract to uphold."

"I _know_ that! Merde!" Remy collapsed on one of the nearby chairs and ran his fingers through his long hair. "I know all about that, Mercy. I'm not stupid. I just... Rogue's one of the closest _friends_ I've made at school and she's pretty much the only one who lives nearby. Well, she has family nearby anyway. I guess she technically lives in New York instead of Mississippi now. I just wanted to have a birthday with one of my friends over. Is it so much to ask?"

"I'm sure Jean-Luc never would have agreed if it was," Mercy replied mildly. "But you're just going to have to deal with being chaperoned. Sorry."

"This is crap."

"Yeah, well, it's necessary crap. Especially with Julien looking for any excuse he can to try and stop the wedding," Mercy said firmly. "They know all about Rogue coming here, and even if we give you the benefit of the doubt and say you're not dating and never have, Julien will still try and make things look otherwise. This is for your own good and Rogue's as well."

Remy would have loved to have argued further but Henri and Marie arrived.

"Rogue, this is my lovely wife, Mercy," Henri said, gesturing to her.

"Hi," Rogue said.

"Nice to meet you, Rogue," Mercy replied. "I know you've just gotten off the train but we thought you might enjoy some sight-seeing since you're only going to be here a few days."

"Sure, I'd like that."

* * *

After an afternoon of touring New Orleans, their trip ended up in a rather crowded ice cream parlour. It had been a hot day and it turned out everyone had the same idea. Including a few people the LeBeaus knew:

"Remy!" Bella Donna exclaimed, making her way over with sundae in hand. "I didn't expect to see you here."

"Just been showing Rogue the sights," Remy replied and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Ahh, so you're Rogue," Bella Donna said, turning her gaze on the other girl. "Lovely to finally meet you. Remy's told me all about you."

"It's nice to finally meet you too," Marie replied and looked past her to see the two older boys coming towards them. One of them was fair-skinned with short blond hair, the other was dark-skinned with long black hair that was done up in beads and dreadlocks.

"Bella Donna," Henri said in greeting. "Julien, Gris Gris."

"So you're Remy's new girlfriend," Julien said, walking right up to Marie.

"Well, if by 'girlfriend' you mean a friend who happens to be a girl, then yes," Marie said, looking him right in the eye. "I don't date engaged men."

"Sure you don't."

"Leave off, Julien," Bella Donna said, jabbing her brother in the side with her free hand before turning her attention back to Marie. "Ignore him, he's an idiot. Mind if I join you?"

"Not at all," Henri replied. "We were just waiting for Mercy to return with our ice cream while we claimed a table."

"Excellent," Bella Donna said and slid one of the chairs next to Remy. "Hey, lover."

"Belle, really," Julien asked with a wince as he sat down next to Marie, who was on the other side of Remy. "People are trying to eat here."

"Yet surprisingly, you're not one of them," Bella Donna replied, pointing her spoon at him. "You know, when I told you boys that I was heading out for ice cream, it was not an invitation for you to watch me eat it."

"Why do you even want to go out for ice cream anyway?" Julien demanded. "We have plenty at home."

"Because making sundaes take effort. And I just wasn't bothered."

"So does driving all the way out here."

"I wasn't driving, you were," Bella Donna retorted. "If you don't think it was worth the effort just because you think ice cream is stupid or something, then it's your own damn fault for volunteering."

"I would have been happy to take her," Gris Gris told Julien mildly as he scooped up some more of his own sundae. "I wanted ice cream too."

"I see we have friends with us," Mercy said as she joined the table with a tray of ice cream delights in her hands.

"I noticed that myself," Henri said, half standing to help Mercy with the tray.

"Yeah," Julien said, stretching his arm across Marie's shoulders as Mercy handed out the ice cream, "friends." He smirked at the glare Remy gave him. "Problem, Remy? Oh, I'm sorry, am I touching your girlfriend?"

"Not my girlfriend, Julien," Remy replied tersely as Marie looked at Julien's offending hand.

"Then this shouldn't bother you then," Julien said, rubbing Marie's arm suggestively.

"It bothers me," Marie said, turning her head to look at Julien. "Remove your hand. Now."

Julien slid his hand downward and Remy clenched his spoon as he watched Julien's hand brush against Marie's side and rub her hip.

"Or what?" Julien challenged her.

"Or I remove it and use it to clean out your anal passage," Marie replied stonily, staring him down.

Julien's hand lingered for a moment as he weighed everything up, then he lifted it free. Bella Donna laughed.

"Oh, you're adorable," Bella Donna said and nudged Remy. "Remy, let's keep her."

Gris Gris snorted. "She's not a purse puppy, Belle."

"I should say not," Marie said the same time Bella Donne replied: "Those things are so stupid."

The two girls looked at each other.

"I know, right?" Marie said while attacking her sundae with her spoon. "Dogs are not fashion accessories."

"Exactly! And not to mention being completely impractical. I mean, what are you going to do when it needs to poop?" Bella Donna asked. "Let it go all over your stuff?"

"Well, why not? They're already getting its hair all over everything. And dogs are meant for running around and playing and stuff, not being carted around, geez," Marie said, shaking her head. "I just want to smack the owners."

"Either that or smash their head against a brick wall until their brains ooze out onto the cement," Bella Donna replied ghoulishly.

"That works too," Marie replied with an amused tone, having no idea that Bella Donna was half being serious.

* * *

Marie headed downstairs to the kitchen for breakfast. The LeBeau mansion wasn't exactly vastly populated to begin with but it seemed like the quietest it had been. She hesitated at first in the unfamiliar, empty kitchen but she had already done all her other usual morning stuff: work out, shower, get dressed. Her stomach was demanding food and she could deny it no longer.

She was in the middle of her exploration of the kitchen when Remy arrived. She jumped a little when he greeted her by sneaking up behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist. He chuckled at her exclamation.

"Morning," she said.

"Morning," he replied.

Remy kissed her gently, happy to finally have a chance to do that. The way his family had been on his back, anyone would think Marie had poisonous skin or something. Marie smiled back at him but after meeting Bella Donna last night the kiss felt... odd.

"Sorry we haven't had much time alone," he said.

"It's okay," Marie replied. "The arranged marriage is a big deal and your parents don't acknowledge your arrangement with Belle. I get it."

"Yeah," Remy said, looking a little sad as he opened up the pantry. "Anything in particular you want for breakfast?"

"No, not really. Anything's fine."

"How do omelettes sound?"

"Good."

Remy nodded and started pulling out things to make the omelettes. Marie sat down on the clear bench top, relieved that the matter of breakfast had been taken out of her hands.

"Say, did I ever tell you how it was that I started going to Xaviers?" Remy asked as he cracked eggs into a bowl, knowing full well he hadn't told Marie the story at all.

"No, I don't believe you did."

"Well, what happened was I applied to a whole bunch of schools, including Xaviers, and that was one of the ones I got accepted into. I managed to get through the entire application process without telling Poppa a thing," Remy said while tossing more ingredients into the mix. "The one day I went into his office, dumped all the paperwork in front of him and said 'That's where I'm going to go to high school'."

"Wow, really?"

"Yep. He was pissed as hell at me for going behind his back," Remy said smugly, "but he was kinda proud too. It was only because Xaviers is so prestigious that he let me attend. It was really cool, you know? I felt like I had finally made a major decision in my life."

"High school's a major decision, huh?"

Remy pulled out the omelette pan from the cupboard. "Hey, I'm being denied the choice of marriage and career. I'll take what I can get."

"Career too?"

"Yeah. Family business."

"What about Henri?"

"He's in it too," Remy said as he prepared the pan. "Only it's his decision. He has the option of an alternate career if he feels like it."

"Ahh. Can't chance you on the career of your choice when you have a wife to look after huh?"

"Well, Belle's in a similar boat; she's stuck in her family's business too."

Marie nodded slowly while Remy started cooking the omelettes.

"Oh hey," Marie said after the silence had dragged out long enough. "Happy birthday."

Remy smiled, but it was a sad little smile.

"Thanks," he said. Now if only he didn't feel like he only had one year left before his life was over.

* * *

**Continue **onto** JayCee's RedGold** _Gym Class Anti-Hero _– Chapter 2


	26. The Queen and I

**Chapter 26: ****The Queen and I**

The LeBeaus turned out to be a family of night owls who slept in most of the morning and it was only that Remy was used to waking up 'early' for boarding school that he was even up at the time he was. For a couple of precious hours, Remy and Marie had some time alone, not that they really did all that much that a chaperone would have disapproved of.

In due course the rest of the family got up and after their usual first thing in the morning activities, they began their preparations for Remy's seventeenth birthday party. No one commented on Marie and Remy being up before them and Marie had the impression they just wanted to be able to bury their heads in the sand, expecting that 'the worst' had happened.

After all but the last minute stuff was done and before the guests were due to arrive, Jean-Luc asked for everyone to come with him. There was a huge grin on Remy's face as he, Marie, and his family made their way to the multicar garage. Marie was rather shocked at not only the size of the place but at the number of cars and motorcycles contain therein. In one corner of the garage, there was a motorcycle shaped lump underneath a white sheet.

"Remy," Jean-Luc said, holding out a little black box. "Happy birthday."

Remy whisked the sheet off to reveal a beautiful red motorcycle.

"Yes!" he cheered, accepting the box which held the all important keys, his eyes remaining on his new baby. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! This is awesome!"

"I think he likes it," Mercy said with a chuckle.

"I think so too," Henri replied.

Remy continued to drool... that is, _inspect_ his present until his guests started to arrive. The first to show up was one of Remy's cousins, a freckle-faced red head named Emil Lapin. On his tail were the brothers, blond Etienne and the older, black-haired Theoren Marceaux. Shortly the ballroom was packed with friends and family, including Bella Donna, Julien, and Gris Gris.

Marie felt somewhat out of place at the party since the only person she really knew was Remy and he was busy trying to be a good host to everyone else as well. Marie quickly began to hate the knowing looks people would give her, insinuating that more went on between herself and Remy than actually did. Her boredom and discomfort was interrupted when a hand yanked her into a nearby alcove.

"What—" she began and then her eyes fell on the only other person in the room: Julien, "What do you want?"

Julien smiled and let go of her arm. "Funny you should ask. I want you to get caught having sex with Remy."

Marie rolled her eyes and started for the door. "Not gonna happen."

Julien intercepted her, both by yanking on her shoulder and by waving a thick wad of money in her face. Marie stared.

"Five grand in twenties," Julien said as Marie gaped at the cash. She'd never seen that much money before. "Five grand just to let someone walk in on you and Remy."

Julien misinterpreted Marie's shock at seeing that much money in real life for her considering his offer and leaned in closer.

"They'll call the wedding off then," he said into her ear. "It's win-win. I get my sister out of this farce of a marriage and Remy's free to publicly be your boyfriend."

Marie was silent, just for a moment considering it. She would like to be able to officially date Remy...

"No," she said finally. "No, either Remy does want to marry Belle, or getting out of the marriage is not as easy as you're making out, either way I would be guilty of betraying him."

She stared to move away again but Julien yanked her back and forced to look at him.

"Right, like that filthy, thieving, fils de pute has never betrayed anyone in his life," Julien sneered at her. "Someone could walk in on you and Remy at any time, sweetheart. Do yourself a favour and take the money."

"Remy and I are not having sex," Marie retorted. "So why don't you just take your money and shove it up your ass?"

As Marie tried to get away, Julien pulled her closer. Marie found that it wasn't quite as easy to get away from him as she had expected, he seemed to know all of her usual extraction moves and countered them easily.

"You seem to have a fascination for putting things up my ass," Julien said, pulling out a pocket knife and flicking it open. "Maybe I should put something up yours."

Marie's gaze landed on the blade. All she had to do was get out of his grip long enough to get back out through the door into the ballroom. He wouldn't come after her with a knife in front of everyone, surely?

"Go to hell," she said.

Meanwhile, back in the ballroom, Bella Donna sidled up to Remy.

"By the way," she murmured into his ear. "Me and Theo, the library, just now."

Remy paused in the middle of the conversation to look at her.

"You're not serious?" he asked, the same time watching Theoren stride back into the ballroom.

"What?" Bella Donna asked innocently as those Remy had been talking to carried on with their own conversation. "The thrill of possibly getting caught is half the fun. You should know, it's a habit I got from _you_."

"Yeah, but here?" Remy said gesturing around. "Here? Seriously?"

"Hey, it's you and Rogue they're keeping an eye out on," Bella Donna replied smugly. "The only people looking out for me here is Gris Gris and Julien. Gris Gris wouldn't care and Julien... Where is Julien? I haven't seen him in awhile."

"Too busy in the library?" Remy asked quietly as he scanned the room with Bella Donna. "Huh, I don't see Rogue anywhere either."

Remy and Bella Donna locked eyes. Almost on cue there was a crash from the alcove, barely audible over the music. Together they rushed for the door, which Remy couldn't get open fast enough for his liking. Marie and Julien were fighting, on the floor a vase lay shattered with the table it had been sitting on lying nearby. Julien still held his knife, only now there was blood on the blade and a matching slash on Marie's cheek.

In a surge of rage, Remy started to rush Julien only for Bella Donna to push him aside and tackle her brother herself.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Julien?" she demanded of him.

Julien glared at his sister, then directed his gaze to Remy. "What's wrong LeBeau? You need a woman to fight your battles for you?"

Once again Remy started for Julien but Bella Donna turned to the side, placing one hand on Remy's chest while keeping hold of Julien's collar with the other.

"No, Remy," she said firmly. "It's what he wants."

"Funny," Remy replied, glowering at Julien with the colour of his eyes making his glare all the more sinister. "That's what I want too."

"Come and get me," Julien challenged.

"Shut it Julien," Bella Donna said. "Remy, go check on Rogue. I'll handle him."

"Coward," Julien taunted.

"Remy," Bella Donna warned.

Remy worked his jaw.

"Letting the little woman make your decisions for you already?" Julien said.

"Julien, if you don't shut your trap right now I will personally make sure that you spend the rest of your days coughing up blood every time you open it," Bella Donna said tersely. "Remy, if you don't check on Rogue _right now_, I will not have sex with you again for the rest of the summer."

"Belle!" Julien exclaimed, horrified at the very idea of Remy ever seeing his sister naked (despite the knowledge that he'd already done that on multiple occasions already).

Remy broke eye contact with Julien and turned towards Marie, who was leaning against the wall and inspecting the blood on her hand. Julien was a better fighter than her and it came to her that the only time she ever went up against people better than herself was when she was training.

"Anna?" Remy asked gently while Bella Donna got into a screaming match with her brother.

"Never been in a real knife fight before," Marie replied, her eyes still on her hand as she got her breath back.

"First time for everything?" Remy suggested, trying to break the tension as he inspected the cut on her cheek. "Looks superficial. You should be fine... unless he got you somewhere else?"

Marie shook her head and before another word could be said, Tante Mattie, a portly black woman with a no-nonsense demeanour, came striding in.

"What the devil is going on here?" she demanded.

Julien and Bella Donna silenced and all turned to look at her. Jean-Luc was at her side, many from the party were peering in curiously.

"Julien didn't take kindly to it when I refused to set things up so that someone walked in on Remy and I having sex," Marie announced, finally dropping her bloody hand, "and told him to shove his five grand up his stinking ass."

"Julien Bordreaux!" Tante Mattie exclaimed.

"She lies!" Julien insisted.

Tante Mattie gave him The Look. Julien held her gaze defiantly for all of two seconds and then looked at the ground. Tante Mattie waved her finger at him.

"That's no way for a gentleman to behave. For shame," she scolded him. "I think you owe Rogue an apology. Well? We haven't got all day."

Julien cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Sorry, Rogue."

"Gris Gris," Jean-Luc's voice rang out. "Please escort Julien back home and inform Marius of what has occurred and that Julien is no longer welcome in this house."

Gris Gris nodded as he stepped forward. "Yes, sir."

"Come girl," Tante Mattie said, turning to Marie. "Let's get that cleaned up."

* * *

Jean-Luc hung up the phone as Marie headed over to the poker game Remy had gotten started. Tante Mattie looked at Jean-Luc inquiringly.

"How'd it go?" she asked.

"I just told him that someone tried to pay his daughter for a sexual favour and then tried to kill her when she refused," Jean-Luc replied blandly. "He was angry. I would be too. Fortunately, I talked him out of trying to pursue things. Told him the parents had friends in high places and he'd never get anything to stick."

"He was angry about that too, no doubt," Tante Mattie said.

"Oui, but as things worked out, Rogue's okay, Bella Donna had the presence of mind to stop Remy from striking Julien and I finally got the excuse I needed to ban Julien from my house without starting an incident," Jean-Luc said. "Logan seemed reassured after talking to her, so he's not insisting that she comes home immediately. I'm not sure which I'd prefer."

"I suspect we're past the worst of it."

* * *

"Wow," Bella Donna said while leaning on the back of Remy's chair, half a dozen rounds into the poker game during the party. "You're actually good at this."

Marie grinned up at her. "I like poker."

"Beginners luck," Theoren muttered.

"Oh, it's not," Remy said wickedly.

"My dad taught me," Marie said as she looked at her freshly dealt cards. "I think he'd be annoyed if he knew I was playing for money though."

Sometime later, the poker game came to an end and they gathered around for cake. Everyone sang Happy Birthday and then Remy blew out the candles.

"Hey, Remy," Bella Donna from where she stood next to him. "Knife comes out dirty you have to kiss the nearest girl."

"Okay, if you insist," Remy replied nonchalantly.

While Remy inserted the knife into the cake, Bella Donna quickly switched places with Marie so that Marie was the closest girl. Marie looked at her in surprise and Bella Donna grinned mischievously at her.

"Oh no," Remy said with feigned distress as he lifted the dirty knife for all to see. "I will have to kiss the nearest girl. Gee, I wonder who that could... be?"

Remy looked at Marie standing in Bella Donna's place, then at Bella Donna who was giggling away behind her. Marie tried to hide her smile and couldn't. Remy shrugged as if to say "oh who cares if anyone fusses", swept Marie up in his arms, and kissed her soundly while dipping her backwards. He got a hard glare from his father but he knew there'd be no real objections under the circumstances.

The guests started to disperse not long after the cake was divided up and eaten, and soon the only guests left were Marie, Bella Donna, and Tante Mattie. In Bella Donna's case she was technically waiting for Gris Gris to return but the truth was that she had texted him secretly beforehand and told him not to rush. Because it was his birthday, and he had important host duties to attend to, Remy was let off having to help clean up. Instead, he got to entertain Marie and Bella Donna in his bedroom with the door closed (because apparently Bella Donna was considered a good enough chaperone).

Remy sat on his double bed, his back against the headboard with Marie sitting next to him on one side, Bella Donna draped over his arm on the other. He looked at them both, smiled, and said: "So...two girls at once?"

"You wish," Bella Donna said scornfully the same time Marie replied with: "In your dreams."

"Aww." Remy gave a little pout but inwardly he didn't know if he was really disappointed or not.

"So, Rogue," said Bella Donna, leaning across Remy a little to address the other girl. "Remy tells me you haven't slept with him yet."

"Uhh, no," Marie replied, shaking her head. "I'm more of the committed relationship type."

"Ahh." Bella Donna nodded. "I might have been the committed relationship type, except Papa decided not to give me a choice about who I get into a committed relationship with, so now I'm more the 'casual sex until I'm forced into a committed relationship' type."

Marie giggled.

"Teenage rebellion at its finest," Remy joked.

"But seriously," Bella Donna went on. "You should reconsider taking him out for a spin. You won't regret it. Trust me. He's good."

"Uhh..." Marie said awkwardly.

"Pimp me out, why don't you?" Remy said. "Geez, if I tried recommending someone took you for a spin—"

"Hush you," Bella Donna said, swatting at him, and continued addressing Marie, "You've only got one year, y'know, because there's no way anyone but me is sleeping with him after we're married. You try anything after that, I will kill you and use your teeth for a necklace. Just saying."

"I'm satisfied I've made the right decision," Marie replied, feeling like this was the strangest conversation she'd ever had.

"Hmm, maybe you're right," Bella Donna said, trailing her fingers down Remy's torso. "Do him even once and you may be tempted to go back for more. You might even decide that death would be worth it."

"What if you two change your mind about the two girls thing?" Remy asked.

"We won't." "You are such a pervert."

* * *

It was dark by the time Gris Gris showed up and he fended off a few comments on his tardiness by remarking that Marius was a hard man to find. He was then invited to join them out the back with fireworks.

"Fireworks?" Gris Gris queried, looking at Remy appraisingly. "Didn't you blow up enough stuff last week?"

Remy pulled out one of the fireworks. "No."

Gleefully, Remy set up a range of fireworks and then took great delight in lighting the fuses. The first one flew up into the air and exploded with a burst of magenta lights. He chuckled childishly.

"I make things go boom," he told Marie with a big cheesy grin on his face.

"And you're so very proud of yourself, huh?"

"Yep!"

* * *

Marie was only with the LeBeau's for another full day before she returned to Bayville. Logan greeted her eagerly at the airport, his eyes landing on the cut on her cheek almost immediately.

"Hey darlin'," he said. "How was the flight?"

"The flight was great," Marie replied, "the long wait to boarding the plane, not so much."

Logan chuckled, then touched her cheek gently with concern in his eyes.

"Want me to go back there and slash him to ribbons?" he asked.

"I prefer to do my own ass-kicking," Marie replied, "but thanks."

"You sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine, a little shaken up maybe, but otherwise fine."

Logan didn't seem entirely convinced but relented and picked up her bag. "Well, as long as you enjoyed yourself otherwise."

"I did. It was fun," Marie said, paused, then added. "I missed you."

Logan smiled and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "I missed you too."

There was quiet as they began their walk out of the airport terminal. Just before they got to the car, Logan spoke once more:

"Hey, Anna. How'd you like to learn to fly?"

Marie stopped short and stared.

"Really?" she asked, her eyes lighting up. "Really, really really? You mean it? Really?"

"Yes, I mean it."

"Woohoo!"

Logan chuckled lightly as Marie proceeded to do a little happy dance, then wrapped her arms tightly around him.

"Thankyouthankyouthankyou!"

* * *

Remy laid in his bed with Bella Donna curled up asleep beside him. He watched her for a time, then looked towards the window, his mind on someone else entirely.

While he resented and was embarrassed by being in an arranged marriage, he'd never actually had any objections to marrying Bella Donna. He'd known her half his life and it felt like longer. He cared for her more than he could say. He could never picture himself with anyone else.

Until now.

In all his dalliances with other girls, not one of them had so successfully occupied his mind like Marie did. Not one of them had ever distracted him from Bella Donna like Marie did. And not one of them had ever made him regret his engagement to Bella Donna, until Marie did.

It made him wonder if perhaps his father's insistence that he didn't date wasn't just about maintaining the contract with the Assassins Guild and keeping the peace. Maybe Jean-Luc was trying to prevent him from falling for someone else.

* * *

**Continue** onto Chellerbelle's _Gym Class Heroes_ – Chapter 27


	27. Don't Tell Me It's Over

**Chapter 27: ****Don't Tell Me It's Over**

Marie was the first of the students to return for the new school year, followed a couple of weeks later by Wanda and Pietro's arrival. With them and their father was their younger half-sister, Lorna, who had bright green eyes and long black hair. Lorna was very excited to be there.

"It's so pretty!" she often squealed, much to Wanda's irritation.

The next to arrive was Ororo's nephew, Evan Daniels, who showed up with a skateboard tucked under his arm. His first question to Marie, Wanda, Pietro, and Lorna was, "So, there any good places to ride around here?"

After that, the boarders started to arrive in dribs and drabs with the bulk opting to show up on the day before Registration day. Jean arrived in the morning, on her own, driving an SUV.

"Aww, you mean your parents trusted you to drive all the way here, all on your lonesome?" Wanda said, batting her eyes.

"Yeah, they organised the paperwork in advance," Jean said, missing the sarcasm while she unloaded her bags. "It's great, I live just close enough that they didn't think they needed to come with and far enough away that commuting daily would be a terrible idea."

Upon arrival, everyone would check in with Rahne at the front desk and—after paperwork was sorted—were directed to their dorm building where they would meet their dorm parent and finally be directed to their room. More often than not they ended up in the same room they were the year before, a few exceptions occasionally.

A courier showed up at one point with a couple of boxes.

"Ah yes, we've been expecting those," Rahne said as she signed for the delivery. "Just leave them in that corner, thank you, Jacob."

"No problem. Have a good day."

Scott arrived that afternoon wearing red-tinted single lens sunglasses that matched the red convertible he was driving. In the front seat was his father, Chris "Corsair" Summers of the former hair band known as "The Starjammers". Scott's younger brother, Alex, was in the back with all their gear. Scott barely had a chance to get out of the car when Jean had flung her arms around him.

"Scott! I missed you!" she declared.

"I missed you too," Scott replied.

"Did you really drive all the way here from Alaska?"

"I switched with Dad a few times, but yeah."

Chris cleared his throat and was about to make a comment when the sound of a motorcycle came zooming towards them. A big grin appeared on Marie face, suspecting she knew who it belonged to, and her grin only grew bigger when the red motorcycle came into view. All eyes were on it as it did a tight corner and parked. Remy dismounted and switched his helmet quickly for a pair of dark sunglasses.

"You have got to be kidding me," Scott said. "You didn't seriously drive all the way here from Louisiana on that did you?"

"Course I did," Remy replied, took in Scott's single lens sunglasses and added, "Cyclops."

"Where's all your stuff?"

"Courier."

"Doesn't that seem a little redundant?"

"Well, let me put it this way," Remy said with a smirk as he swaggered over. "You have a multiple-passenger car. I have a bike. Who do you think they're going to be asking for trips downtown on weekends? Have fun playing Taxi."

"Actually, I'd like to go on the bike," Marie said.

Remy turned his head to look at her and grinned. "Oh, we are definitely going doubling later, chère."

"I look forward to it," she replied, and yet strangely, she found she didn't mean it quite as much as she thought she would.

For the rest of the day, and most of Registration Day, the students unpacked and settled into their rooms, spending a good deal of time catching up. New students were taken to the uniform shop to organise their uniforms. Registration Day was the day students, both new and old organised uniforms. Everyone lined up at the office to get their new timetables and collect their text books for the year ahead.

* * *

After the student curfew that night, Logan returned home to find Marie sprawled on the lounge in front of the TV. The TV wasn't on. Logan took a moment to toss his jacket on the coat rack and sat down by her feet.

"Something wrong, darlin'?" he asked.

Marie sighed. She didn't reply immediately, seeming to prefer to stare at the TV, but Logan knew that whatever it was, she wanted to talk about it. If she didn't, she'd be in her room.

"I don't know what to do about Remy," she said at last. "I like him. I like him a lot but..."

Marie cut herself off. She promised Remy she wouldn't tell anyone about his engagement, she meant to keep that promise. She also knew Logan overheard them but she didn't know how much.

"But... he has other commitments," Logan said.

"Yeah." Marie sighed again. "And it's... I mean, she's okay with it. She's a little too okay with it actually, it's a little disconcerting. But... but I'm not. And I don't know what to do."

Logan was silent for a moment, considering his reply.

"I think you do know what to do, darlin'," he said gently. "I just think you don't want to do it."

Marie sniffed. She felt tears pricking at her eyes and didn't reply lest they come flooding out.

"You know, there's nothing wrong with being single," Logan said after a time. "And I'm not just saying that as a father who doesn't want his baby girl to date. In fact I think it's very important for everyone to spend some time being single. Especially now, while you're a teenager. You're still figuring out who you are, it's a lot harder to do that when you're tied up with another person. You leave yourself open to being... moulded by them, into what they want you to be, instead of who you actually are. It's not something they necessarily do deliberately, it's just something that happens."

Logan patted her knee.

"You've been dating for what? 4 years now? I know it's nice having a partner, I do. But I don't think you've ever really seen what it's like to be single. You don't need a boyfriend to be happy."

* * *

Looking around the gym on Tuesday, their first full school day, Marie was pleased to see that most of the people she'd been in gym with the year before were still the same. Obviously, Warren, David, Callisto, Fred, and Jason had graduated, their places filled with Freshman, but everyone else was the same. Most of her other classes so far had been changed around.

As they had the year before, Victor—in a blue shirt—and Logan—in yellow—stood before the students with a table holding boxes of coloured uniform shorts beside them. Victor waited impatiently for the twenty-one students to show up, and as head of the gym department, blew his whistle to get their attention and addressed them:

"Okay maggots," he said. "For the benefit of the fresh meat in here, here's how things work: You're going to be split into two teams, the Brotherhood and the X-Men. You'll be playing against each other during the year, so once you've picked your team, that's it, no switching. Not until next year, unless you're graduating, but in that case you already know the drill. We have twenty-one of you schmucks thanks to the runt over here enrolling his daughter at the last minute last year."

Logan rolled his eyes up to the ceiling as Victor gestured to him.

"That means one team will have eleven, the other ten," Victor went on. "Once you've picked your team, you need to get your uniform. Blue is Brotherhood, yellow is X-Men. When the teams are finalised, you go change. You had better have remembered to bring your shirts with you because I will make you go the rest of the class shirtless if you haven't."

Marie had a perverse wish for someone to call him on that.

"Alright, let's get started," Victor said. "Rasputin."

Piotr stepped forward, a little nervous at having been picked first. "X-Men."

"LeBeau."

"Brotherhood," Remy said, striding over to Victor's side.

"Grey."

"X-Men," Jean replied with a flick of her red hair as she made her way over to Logan and Piotr.

"Allerdyce."

"Broth-er-hood! Broth-er-hood!" John chanted. Remy grinned at him as he walked over.

Victor glared at him, and moved on, "Summers."

"X-Men," Scott said firmly.

"Howlett."

Marie stepped forward. She looked Victor right in the eye. "X-Men."

Logan couldn't have hidden his smile even if even wanted to. Remy, meanwhile, watched as if in pain as she walked over to the X-Men's side.

"Traitor," Victor said, narrowing his eyes at her.

"I am not going to be a little pawn in your fight with my Dad anymore," Marie retorted, glaring at her uncle. "You don't like it? Go whine to Graydon."

Victor glared back at her. "Quicksilver."

"Oh, uhh, Brotherhood," Pietro said, quickly dashing over to Victor's side.

"Pryde."

"X-Men," Kitty said decisively, walking proudly over to her team.

"Maximoff."

Wanda looked over at Marie and was quiet for a moment before finally replying with, "Brotherhood," and made her way over to John's side.

"Madrox."

"X-Men," Jamie replied.

"Alvers."

"Brotherhood," Lance said, striding over to the table to acquire a new pair of shorts.

"Wagner."

Kurt took a deep breath as he stood forward. Logan looked at him with interest, wondering if Lord Wagner might have talked him into joining the Brotherhood this year.

"X-Men," Kurt walked over to Logan's side with a pleased smile on his face. He was so glad Marie had switched teams. He looked forward to having a chance to get to know his sister better.

"Lee."

"X-Men," Jubilee replied.

"Tolanski."

"Brotherhood," said Todd, bounding over to join his teammates.

"Drake."

"X-Men," Bobby declared.

"Smith."

Tabitha stepped forward and smugly said, "Brotherhood."

Victor gave her a nod as she walked over.

"What?" Logan asked. "Not going to call her a traitor too?"

"That would be your line, runt," Victor retorted and turned his attention to the five remaining students: "Alright, I don't know any of your names, so I'm just going to point to you, and you're going to tell me your name and pick your team. X-Men have...nine, Brotherhood has eight. Maximum is eleven. You."

Lorna stepped forward as Victor finger pointed at her. She looked between the two teams and smiled at Wanda and Pietro, both of whom were wishing she'd pick the X-Men.

"Lorna Dane," she said. "And I piiiiccck...the Brotherhood."

Wanda and Pietro groaned in unison as Lorna walked over to them. Victor pointed to one of the four remaining, all boys.

"Alex Summers," he said. "X-Men."

Scott smiled as his little brother joined his team. Victor pointed to the next boy.

"Roberto DeCosta," he replied. "X-Men."

"Alright, that two for X-Men, that bring you to eleven...again," Victor said with a glare at Logan, then a nod towards the two remaining boys. "That makes you two Brotherhood. Names?"

"Ray Carter."

"Evan Daniels."

"Alright, go get your uniforms and then go get changed."

Those who needed to grabbed their new uniform shorts did and then everyone headed into the locker rooms.

"I'm torn," Wanda said. "Part of me wishes I'd chosen the X-Men."

"Why?" Marie asked as she headed into the cubicle she considered 'hers'.

"Because then I wouldn't be on the same team as Lorna."

"Hey!" Lorna objected while selecting a cubicle of her own.

"I'm sure Lorna just wants to be with her big sister," Jean said from her cubicle.

"Yeah!" Lorna said grumpily.

"Spare me," Wanda replied.

"But if you picked the X-Men, then you wouldn't be with Pyro," Marie pointed out.

"This is true," Wanda grinned as she changed. "What about you? Remy is Brotherhood."

"I know, but personally I'm glad I don't have to deal with _Uncle Victor_ any more. This is the only class I have to deal with him, and now he's not my coach. Good riddance," Marie said, sounding well pleased.

"I don't blame you," said Jubilee. "Tabby, I can't believe you switched. Seriously. Coach Creed is a jerk."

"Yeah, well, maybe," Tabitha replied, "but Coach Howlett went off at me every time I opened my mouth last year. Soooo not dealing with that again."

"That's because every time you opened your mouth you were trash talking," Jean pointed out. "That's not very sportsmanlike."

"Then she should fit right in with the Brotherhood," Kitty said with a giggle.

"Heh, Creed'll probably encourage the trash talking," Wanda said.

"And that's just the way I like it," Tabitha said, well pleased.

* * *

Marie made her way over to her usual table for lunch, tray of food in hand. Everyone else was there and she was about to sit down in her usual spot when Lance put his foot on the seat.

"You're not welcome here," Lance said spitefully.

"Excuse me?" Marie demanded.

"Move your foot, Alvers," Remy said with a scowl.

"Go sit with your X-Men buddies," Lance told Marie.

"Isn't this why you and Kitty broke up?" Marie retorted.

"Ooh, nerve," Wanda said, standing up. "Come on, Marie. Let's go sit somewhere else."

"I'll join you," John said quickly, grabbing his lunch.

"Same," Remy added.

"Nice one, Lance," said Pietro, rolling his eyes. "Now how am I to make sure Pyro keeps his filthy hands off my sister?"

"Not like he ever makes a move on her anyway," Lance replied. "Something wrong with that boy."

"Hey boys," Tabitha said, approaching the table. "Mind if I join you?"

Lance took his foot off the chair, "Got a seat right here."

"No thanks," Tabitha replied, instead sitting the in chair Remy had vacated. "I'd rather not get whatever you'd had on the bottom of your shoe on my clothes."

"Heh," said Todd. "Good one."

Meanwhile, Wanda, Marie, John, and Remy found themselves another table.

"I can't believe the nerve of him," Wanda said as they settled themselves. "Such a jerk."

"Cliches. They're the way of high school," Marie replied with a shrug. "You get used to it."

"I really don't give a rats," Wanda said firmly. "That was rude. We're friends. The only reason why he was having a go at you was because you had the audacity to pick your father over your uncle."

"I picked a different team."

"It's just gym class!" Wanda insisted. "It's not like it's something important."

"Important to him."

"Then he's an idiot. Which brings me back to my original point."

"I think we can all agree that what happened back there was stupid and unnecessary," Remy said, "but bright side: we're not sitting with them anymore."

"Woohoo!" John cheered. "Never liked those guys anyway."

They moved onto other topics and actually eating their lunch from there. Remy would have liked to have gotten a word in with Marie but the opportunity didn't come up. Then the bell rang and they headed off to their classes.

Remy's last class for that day was Home Economics and he was pleased and surprised when he discovered Marie was going to be in the class with him. He smiled at her and took her hand as they walked into the classroom. Marie smiled back but felt a little uncomfortable about the hand holding. It was time she faced facts: she had to end things. Remy didn't seem to notice her discomfort.

Finally, the last bell for the day rang, signalling the end of class and the end of the school day. Remy and Marie were quick to pack up their things and Remy took her hand again as they headed out.

"So," Remy said. "Want me to walk you home?"

Marie smiled faintly.

"Sure," she said, "why not?"

The first part of the walk was largely spent in silence, then moved into chatter with others as everyone headed back to the dorms so they could dump their things and change out of their school uniforms. Then they parted from everyone to take the turn off to the teacher's quarters.

"I wish you would have told me you were planning on switching teams," Remy said finally as they walked.

"What? You would have switched too?" Marie asked.

"I'd follow you anywhere, chère."

"Really? Anywhere?" she teased him. "What if I stepped off a cliff?"

"Presumably there would be a hang glider or something involved," Remy replied.

Marie laughed and gave him a light nudge. He grinned back at her, then wondered why the smile faded from her face.

"Remy," she said, avoiding his gaze, which only served to make him very nervous. "We... we can't do this anymore."

"Do what?" Remy asked, opting to play the naive card. "Go for long walks together?"

Marie stopped walking and looked down at the ground. "We can't date any more. It's not right. Okay, I don't care that Belle was practically encouraging me to do whatever I wanted with you, I'm really not comfortable with this. We can be friends, of course, but..."

Marie let go of his hand and finally looked at him directly, or as directly as she could with his dark sunglasses covering his eyes.

"No dating. No kissing," she said. "Nothing romantic. It hurts too much. I keep seeing her face and knowing... knowing that we can never be. I'm sorry."

Marie started to walk off but Remy caught her arm.

"I know," he said softly. "It hurts me too. I get it. I've actually been thinking I should break things off with you. I just... couldn't bring myself to do it."

Marie looked at him hopefully. "You understand then?"

"I do." Remy cupped her face in his hand, and stroked her cheek with his thumb. "And I'm sorry things turned out like this."

"So am I."

"One last kiss?"

Marie hesitated and then nodded. Remy leaned in and kissed her, kissed her with everything he had, as if this was the last kiss they would ever have—because it probably was. He wanted to sear this kiss in his memory.

There were tears shining in her eyes when at last they pulled away, then she turned and walked the rest of the way home on her own. As Remy started back to the dorms he felt an unbearable ache in his chest and he wondered if that was what it felt like to be heartbroken.

* * *

**Continue **onto **JayCee's RedGold** _Gym Class Anti-Heroes_ – Chapter 3


	28. Guilty as Charged

**Chapter 28: ****Guilty as Charged**

Wednesday gym class was the one mile run, as always, and then on Thursday they were back to doing football drills in preparation for their games against each other. Kurt successfully managed to snare Marie as his partner for practising passing the football. They did share another class but that didn't really afford Kurt much of a chance to have a private discussion with her. She always sat with Remy, John, and Wanda during lunch and as a day student, Kurt just didn't see her out of school hours like everyone else did.

"I'm really happy you decided to pick the X-Men this year," Kurt said to Marie as he tossed the football to her.

Marie caught the ball. "Why's that?"

"Well, because you're my sister, I'd really like to be able to get to know you better," Kurt replied.

He missed the ball as Marie passed it back and had to grab it up off the ground.

"Half-sister," Marie said tersely.

Kurt paused. "Right... Umm... right. I just, I always wanted a brother or sister—"

"And now you have both," Marie replied, waiting for Kurt to throw the ball back.

"Yeah," Kurt said, passing the ball to her. "I looked up Graydon's music over the summer. He seems...very angry."

"Well, he sure as hell wasn't happy to see Creed, or me neither, once he knew who I was." Marie caught the ball and threw it back.

"So I heard," Kurt caught the ball. "Umm, Rogue? About our mother," Kurt said, and hurried on quickly when he saw that Marie was opening her mouth to cut him off. "I'm so sorry about her leaving you. I wanted to know who my birth mother was and I went looking. I had no idea when I found her that she'd just leave you like that. I didn't even know I had any siblings."

Marie sighed. She supposed she should have guessed this conversation was inevitable but she really wasn't feeling all that inspired to talk about her mother. Months had passed but the events of Graduation Day still hurt.

"You gonna throw that or what?" Marie asked.

Kurt silently threw the ball to her. She caught it, sighed again, and threw it back. She supposed she should get this over with.

"When I found out Mama left me for a little brother I never knew existed, I hated him," Marie admitted as they continued to throw the ball back and forth. "You were this nameless, faceless person who had stolen my mother away from me."

"I'm sorry—"

"But now you have a name, and a face, and I find I don't really hate you," she went on. "I hate that Mama took off without a word and didn't even consider the idea that I might have wanted to meet you."

"Maybe she was worried about what you might think of her having a child to another man when you were just a baby yourself," Kurt suggested.

"Either way I was going to think something about her," Marie replied. "Do you honestly think that she would see abandoning me as the lesser evil? Really?"

"Lots of people try to run away from the consequences of their actions," Kurt pointed out. "In fact, I would go as far to say that all of us, at least once in our lives, have tried to avoid taking responsibility for the things we've done. Some even spend their whole lives running away."

"Stop trying to justify her actions."

"I'm not. I'm simply trying to understand them," Kurt replied seriously, fumbling for the ball as he hadn't quite caught it. "We all make mistakes and I do not wish to condemn our mother for hers no more than I would want anyone to condemn me for mine."

Marie caught the ball as it came sailing back towards her.

"You know, she abandoned you too," she pointed out.

"I know. But it changes nothing," Kurt insisted. "I still want to know her. I want to tell her I forgive her."

"Why?"

"So she knows that—"

"No, why do you want to forgive her?" Marie asked. "She _abandoned_ you, just like she abandoned me, twice!"

"Because my God is a God of love and that's what He would want me to do," Kurt replied, paused, and then added with a sly smile. "Besides, not forgiving someone is like letting them live inside your head, rent free."

Marie snorted. "In that case, it's a wonder I haven't gone insane from all the voices living in mine."

* * *

Kurt sidled up to Bobby and Jamie the next day on the way to gym class.

"So," he said, "did you guys manage to get into the equipment room earlier?"

"Yep," Bobby replied proudly. "This is going to be good."

"Yeah, I can't wait," Jamie said gleefully.

The trio silenced as they approached the gym and came into earshot of members of the Brotherhood. Everyone made their way into the locker rooms and changed into their gym clothes as always, and then they headed out to the football field.

Today was to be their first game against each other. Logan waited on one side of the stands with yellow helmets and shoulder guards, Victor on the other side with blue ones. As each of the student emerged, they headed for their respective coach and started putting on their gear.

Jamie, Bobby, and Kurt sneaked looks over at the Brotherhood, eager and excited for the inevitable reaction.

"Phew," said Lorna as she picked up her helmet. "This thing stinks."

"It's a communal helmet. It probably stinks of every head that's ever worn it," Wanda replied.

"Just hurry up and gear up," Victor said to Lorna as if talking to a petulant child. "You'll get over the smell."

Lorna pulled a face but put the helmet on. Remy frowned at the pink colour of the foam padding—he didn't remember it looking like that—but he put his own as well. Upon seeing his team ready, Victor started to speak, but then Ray took his helmet off.

"Did I say you could take that off?" Victor demanded.

"Sorry, but my head—"

"Put it back on."

"But it feels all burny."

"Yeah," said Evan, taking his off as well. "My head burns too."

"I don't care what it feels like—" Victor started to say, then glared at Remy when he saw him take his off as well. "LeBeau. Helmet. Back on. Now."

"I don't think that would be a good idea, sir," Remy replied as politely as he could muster. "The inside looks pink and they smell—"

"We've established that the helmets stink already," Victor snapped. "That's no excuse."

"I think there's Nair in the helmets," Remy insisted, holding his out to Victor for his inspection.

Wanda caught her breath, Tabitha swore, and both girls immediately whipped the helmets off their heads. Loran followed suit, happy for any excuse to take the stupid thing off.

"Nair?" Victor repeated with a frown. "What the hell is that?"

"Hair removal stuff," Remy replied as Victor finally took the helmet from him. "It needs to sit about five minutes or something, and then it makes your hair fall out."

The rest of the helmets came off. Victor eyed Remy suspiciously.

"How do you know so much about it?" Victor asked.

"You got me, sir," Remy answered evenly. "I use it all the time. The femmes just love my silky smooth body."

There were some nervous giggles in response. Victor stared hard at Remy, trying to discern whether he was being serious or not.

"Alright, hit the showers," Victor said. "I suppose I can't have any of you maggots going bald on me."

The shoulder guards were quickly discarded and the Brotherhood rushed back to the locker rooms. Victor turned to Logan and the X-Men, who were watching with interest.

"Logan," Victor called.

Logan frowned and walked over. Victor hardly ever called him 'Logan'. It was usually 'runt' or (for some reason Logan couldn't remember) 'Jimmy'. Whatever it was, it must be important.

Bobby, Jamie, and Kurt looked at each other, trying to hide their grins. Kitty noticed and glared at them.

"Please tell me you didn't," she said.

They didn't reply. Kitty muttered something under her breath.

"Didn't what?" asked Scott.

He got no response, but it mattered little. Logan returned to them soon enough with one of the blue helmets in his hand and a grim expression on his face.

"Does anyone have anything they want to tell me about a little prank that's been pulled on the Brotherhood?" Logan asked in a tone that Marie recognised as his 'no nonsense, you're in a ton of trouble' voice.

He got no response.

"Fine. Then it's detention for the whole lot of you for two weeks." Logan lifted his hand to silence the objections that the innocent amongst them attempted to verbalise. "Unless the guilty party or parties amongst you would care to come forward, then—and only then—can you spare your innocent friends. No finger pointing. I want those involved to admit what was done themselves. Now, I will ask one more time, and only one more time: Who put Nair in the Brotherhood's helmets?"

Jean's eyes widened. "No, that's horrible!"

Kurt cleared his throat. "Ahem, I will admit I... Well, I didn't put any of the Nair in the helmets, but I was involved in planning the prank."

Logan gave Kurt a hard look, inwardly groaning that he of all the students would have to be involved. He'd never had to give Kurt detention before and he really didn't want to start with the first week back at school while Lord Wagner was paranoid about Kurt being bullied by him.

"Thank you, Kurt," Logan said. "Anyone else care to speak up?"

Kitty sighed. "I knew about it."

Kurt glanced at her. "No. Sir, I don't think that Kitty should be punished. She knew—I mean, we were planning on pulling a prank on them, but she tried to talk us out of the Nair."

Logan nodded. "I'll keep that in mind."

Silence fell and Logan caught the eyes of the rest of his students in turn. Bobby wriggled uncomfortably under his gaze.

"I put the Nair in the helmets," Bobby said reluctantly. "And so did—"

Logan lifted his hand to silence him. "Your co-conspirator has a mouth. I'm sure he's quite capable of admitting his own guilt."

Jamie tried to pretend like everyone wasn't looking at him and plastered his most innocent expression on his face.

"You sabotaged school equipment," Logan said, making a point of trying to make Jamie, whom he suspected, feel as uncomfortable as possible, "endangered other students, it's my understanding that people with sensitive skin can have an adverse reaction to this stuff, and you think this is a joke? Not laughing. You've got five seconds to come forward and spare your innocent teammates detention."

Jamie attempted to shrink into the crowd, such as it was.

"Time's up," Logan said, and again, stopped to silence protests. "Two week detention starts after school today, for all of you. And now, since we've had to cancel today's game because of your senseless vandalism, you can start paying for it by running laps with your gear on. Get moving."

Jamie was quick to run off, hoping to run away from the wrath of his angry teammates.

* * *

"I assume you heard?" Logan said to Professor Xavier in his office after class.

"I did," the Professor replied. "I sense we're going to be in for another year of pranks."

"Yeah, I get that feeling too."

"I really don't mind the pranking in its own right," the Professor went on. "It encourages ingenuity, teamwork, creativity. Even the competition between them I don't mind. It's when it gets out of hand..."

"Like damaging school property and endangering people."

"Exactly. I doubt we'll be able to prevent all the pranking but it must be made clear that we won't allow anything that will hurt other people," Professor Xavier said firmly.

"Agreed. And speaking of hurting other people, I was hoping I could ask a favour," Logan said, feeling a little awkward. "Would you mind being the one to call Lord Wagner and explaining? Kurt turned out to be one of the ones in on it—the first to speak up, as a matter of fact—but after what happened end of last year..."

"Of course," Professor Xavier replied, understanding immediately. "No reason to make the situation any worse than it already is."

* * *

"Man, I can't believe you got detention," Wanda said shaking her head at their table at lunch. "That's so not fair. On you, I mean. The douche bags who put Nair in our helmets should be getting a month of detention."

"You're telling me," Marie said disgustedly. "And the rest of us would have gotten off too if Jamie had bothered to confess."

"You want us to get him back for you?" Remy asked slyly.

"May as well say yes," John said with a wicked grin. "We're going to get back at them anyway."

"Then it doesn't really matter what I say," Marie replied. "No one lost any hair, did they?"

"I lost a couple of strands but that's about it," Wanda said.

"I shall avenge those strands of hair!" John declared. "None shall harm a hair on your head and not pay for their slight on your person."

Wanda laughed and smiled at John.

"Evan and Ray had the worst of it, I think, and even then they didn't really lose much," Remy said. "Not enough in our hair and not long enough to do much in the way of damage."

"Oh good," Marie said, grinning at him. "We'd hate for you to start going bald prematurely."

"Perish the thought."

* * *

Remy's final class for the day was autoshop and he was rather surprised to find Logan in the garage instead of Erik. He put his bag aside and since his fellow classmates weren't long in arriving, he didn't need to wait much for an answer.

"I'm taking over autoshop from Mr Lehnsherr, this year," Logan said. "You can call me Coach Howlett, or Mr Howlett, I don't care."

Aside from Logan having a different teaching style to Erik, the class was unremarkable and when the bell rang the students were quick to pack up and leave as all students do in Friday afternoons. Yet, Remy lingered.

"Excuse me, Mr Howlett?" Remy said, approaching him.

"Yeah, kid?" Logan replied, leaning against one of the cars in the garage.

"I was wondering if it was alright with you if I took Rogue, umm, Marie, out on my motorcycle some time?" Remy asked tentatively and hurried on at the raise of Logan's eyebrow. "She's been interested in going doubling with me but I thought I should run it by you before taking her out. I wouldn't want to get her into any trouble or anything."

Logan grunted. Aside from having Marie over for his birthday, Logan hadn't expected Remy to ask him for permission to do anything with her.

"She's interested, huh?" Logan asked. "I remember taking her out on my bike when she was a kid."

"Yeah, she mentioned that."

"Huh." Logan considered. "Well, I don't mind her going riding. But license or not, I don't know what you're like as a driver."

"Would it mean anything to you if I promised to take care of her?" Remy asked, almost cheekily.

"About as much as it would mean coming from any teenage boy asking to take my daughter out in any kind of vehicle," Logan replied blandly.

"Oh? I'm lumped in with 'any teenage boy'? Cool, a promotion. I figured I was even lower than that in your eyes."

"Anyone ever tell you that you have a smart mouth?"

"Frequently, sir," Remy said and wisely held back a perverted comment about what most girls had to say about his mouth. He cleared his throat after a glance at some of the other vehicles I the garage. "Ahem, it occurs to me that I actually have a bunch of reward points saved up, and, well, we do have dirt bikes here. I don't know if Marie's clear to ride but—"

"That's not a half bad idea," Logan said, looking over towards the dirt bikes. "Those things got used so little last year, I wondered why we even had the things. It'll have to be Sunday, though. Marie's got flight lessons with 'Ro—erm, Ms Monroe in the morning, and then martial arts with me."

"And riding horses with Wanda again, no doubt," Remy added. "Sunday's fine. Marie mentioned she was going to start taking pilot lessons. She was very excited about it."

"Yeah, I know," Logan replied, paused and eyed him speculatively. "I know Ms Monroe takes Scott out in the afternoons but when are your lessons?"

"Ahh, Friday nights," Remy said with a nod. "I have special dispensation to go out after curfew for the lessons. Night flying is more comfortable on my eyes. Well, assuming I have enough reward points to cover the lessons, of course."

"Which you always make sure you have."

"Definitely."

"Alright, Sunday it is."

* * *

**Continue** onto **JayCee's RedGold** _Gym Class Anti-Heroes_ – Chapter 4


	29. So Long Friend

**Chapter 29: ****So Long Friend **

The three new girls at the school; Lorna Dane, Cecilia Reeves, and Claire DeLuc, were on their way to the stables that Saturday when the sexiest man alive walked out of one of the boys dorms. He was tall, dark, and dressed in tight black leather pants and boots with a tight white shirt and his dark sunglasses. He had his black leather jacket slung over one shoulder and his other hand was holding his bright red motorcycle helmet.

"Hi, Remy," Lorna, Cecilia, and Claire said one right after the other.

Remy glanced back at them.

"Bonjour mademoiselles," he replied with a nod.

As Remy continued on his way to the student car park he heard Lorna, Cecilia, and Claire give a collective sigh.

* * *

"So, didja get it?" John asked as Remy got off his motorcycle sometime later.

"Yes, I got it," Remy replied after taking off his helmet.

"Yay!" John cheered, as they started back for the dorms. "This is going to be great. I just wish we could see the looks on their faces..."

Remy twisted his backpack around as they walked and pulled out a box of plastic wrap.

"Having the satisfaction of knowing is good enough for me," Remy said mischievously. "Go wild. Oh, and remember to make sure the plastic doesn't have any wrinkles on it when you put it over the toilet bowl. That's how I spotted it that one time you tried it on me."

"No wrinkles, check!"

* * *

Logan sat down by Ororo at the teacher's table on Sunday night for dinner in the cafeteria. She smiled at him as he put his tray down.

"And how was dirt biking?" she asked.

"It was good fun," Logan replied.

"Did Marie get to drive?"

"She did, she loved it," Logan said, sounding well-pleased.

Ororo smiled as she picked up her drink. "I am glad you had a good time. And what of Remy?"

Logan paused in the middle of cutting up his steak.

"The kid's a risk taker," he said finally, "but he's a good risk taker. He's obviously been riding bikes for years."

"Private property. No license required."

"Right. Not sure I know how I feel about him taking Marie out. Knowing he's good at driving doesn't make him responsible." Logan looked torn.

"I suppose you'll have to look to see if you think he's been responsible in other areas of his life," Ororo replied.

Logan grunted. He had some really mixed feelings about Remy and wasn't at all sure what to make of him anymore.

* * *

"They put plastic wrap over the toilet," Bobby grumbled to Kurt as they walked down the hallway on Monday morning to their roll call room. "I peed all over the floor."

"Consider yourself lucky," Jamie said. "I had to go number twos."

"Eww," Kurt replied, turning up his nose. "Man, I can't believe they got you back already. Sure work fast, huh?"

"Yeah," Bobby said. "We've definitely got to—"

"Oh no you don't," Kitty said, wagging a finger at them. "We're all still paying for the last prank you pulled."

"Aww Kitty. We'll make sure it's nothing detention worthy this time," Bobby insisted.

"Yeah... uh huh, sure. You'll excuse me if I disassociate myself with you guys for while. I don't mind pulling pranks but they actually have to be funny," Kitty replied. "Nair is not funny, it would have taken a long time for any bald patches to grow back if they hadn't realised what had happened as soon as they did."

And as the bell rang, the four split ways. Kurt and Bobby to their roll call room, and Kitty and Jamie to theirs. Kitty made a point of striding ahead, making sure that she entered well before Jamie did.

* * *

Aside from detention, the week was uneventful, and before anyone knew it, it was Friday again. The X-Men and the Brotherhood squared off against each other on the football field, finally to have the game against each other they should have had the week before.

Since it was nine-man football, there were three reserves; One Brotherhood, and two X-Men. While Logan rotated his team, it quickly became evident that Victor was far more interested in keeping Tabitha on the bench:

"Hey Scott! You make a great advertisement for condoms!"

"Way to go Jean! Looks like you really are Miss Perfect, 'cause you missed that perfectly!"

"If I ever need a brain transplant, I'm gonna request Bobby's 'cause I want one that's never been used before!"

Logan pressed his lips tightly together but refrained from commenting. That was exactly what Victor wanted him to do. Logan made it abundantly clear to his team that they were not to respond to her jibes, no matter what she said.

After the game, the Brotherhood boys returned to the locker rooms, showered, and then discovered that their towels were soaking wet.

"Not another year of this," Scott said irritably when Remy blithely walked out of his cubicle stark naked to retrieve some dry towels from the cupboard.

"It's okay, Scott, you can admit it," Remy said as he pulled out a stack of towels. "You guys just wanted to know what a real man's body looked like."

Scott rolled his eyes up to the ceiling. "I'm out of here."

* * *

Remy and John, nor any of the other Brothers were about to let this go unpunished. They acted swiftly; Remy picked up supplies over the weekend, and after changing for Monday's gym class, they stuffed the X-Men's shoes with salami.

There was then a momentary peace treaty between the teams when it was discovered that John's foster dad, Wade, had decided that for John's 18th birthday he would hire out Andy B's, a gaming facility that offered everything from bowling to go-carts to laser tag. Both the Brotherhood and X-Men were invited to come, provided they got permission from their parents, and a whole Saturday was spent having way more fun than was decent.

Of course, on Sunday, it was back to war.

The X-Men responded to the salami by putting pickles in the pockets of the Brotherhood's uniform pants on Monday. Remy and John were already prepared for an immediate follow up prank. Remy had taken it upon himself to steal a pair of school socks from each of the X-Boys rooms on Sunday. These socks were then treated with heat rub.

On the day of retribution, Remy and John sneaked into each of the X-Boys cubicles after they'd changed into their gym clothes and switched the socks around. After class, while the X-Boys were showering, Remy and John taped the "clean" socks to the wall outside their respective cubicle and went about their own showering and changing.

"How do they come up with these things so quickly?" Bobby demanded over lunch. "It took us ages to think of the pickles."

"Which is astonishing when you think about it, since we were basically ripping off their salami prank," Kurt said musingly.

"Well, we're just going to have to think of something else," Jamie insisted.

"I can't think," Bobby said. "My feet still hurt. Stupid burning gel stuff."

"Can't we get 'em detention for that?" Jamie asked. "Doesn't that qualify as hurting other students or something?"

"I think Scott was going to talk to Coach Howlett about it," Kurt replied.

"I still wanna pull another prank though," Jamie said.

"So do I," Bobby agreed, "but what? What can we do?"

Kurt snapped his fingers. "I have an idea."

And thus it was that while the Brothers were showering a few gym classes later, the X-Boys taped over the rings of the curtains on the curtain rod. Their first preference would have been super glue, but they didn't want to get into trouble over damaging school property again. Sadly, the tape didn't work quite as well as they'd hoped, with many of their intended victims not being at all hindered by it, or even noticing that they'd been pranked.

"They're such children," John said to Remy as they headed off to their next classes.

"Yeah. We're going to have to show them how to prank properly," Remy agreed.

"Newspaper?" John suggested.

"Wouldn't work in the locker room," Remy replied thoughtfully. "Be better in the dorms over the weekend. Don't want to wait that long though. Ahh, I know just the thing."

The very next day when the X-Boys went to dry themselves off after their respective showers, they discovered that lathered up soap was building up on their skin. They were none too impressed when they had to exchange their towels (which had been coated in liquid soap) and had to have another shower.

It took the X-Boys a little longer to think of a comeback and it happened on the second to last gym class for the school's football season. After the Brothers had left, Kurt, Bobby, and Jamie went around to their cubicles and put jelly beans in the shower heads. When they came back, the Brothers ended up all sticky after their showers.

"Jelly beans in the shower head," Remy announced to everyone as soon as he'd realised. "Make sure you take 'em out before you shower again."

Kurt, Bobby, and Jamie were a little disappointed that Remy figured it out after just one shower. They were hoping that the Brothers would end up taking a second one and end up even stickier.

* * *

Remy and John changed quickly into their gym clothes the following gym class, then they lingered in the locker room. They watched and waited as the X-Boys changed and started to leave for class. John had a big, goofy grin on his face while Remy was acting a lot more smug. Scott stopped in front of them.

"Can you please not?" Scott said. "This pranking business is getting out of hand and I really don't want to spend my last year here having to look over my shoulder all the time."

John snickered behind his hand while Remy just looked at Scott. Scott sighed and continued on his way out. Their continued presence made the X-Boys very nervous to the point where Jamie decided he should stay and make sure they didn't do anything. So Jamie lingered in the locker room as well, watching Remy and John like a hawk after everyone else had left.

"You'd best get going, mon ami," Remy said to Jamie. "Howlett won't like it if you're late."

"Creed will like it even less if you are," Jamie replied firmly. "He'll give you detention for sure."

"If you're too late, you won't escape detention either," Remy said.

Jamie didn't reply. He continued to glare at them as the silence drew out.

"Umm," John said, starting to feel fidgety. "Hate to say the kid has a point..."

"You go on ahead," Remy said, giving John a nod. "I can do the rest by myself."

"You sure?" John asked hesitantly.

"Sure I'm sure."

"I'll cover for you."

"I might be awhile."

"Yeah..." John threw Jamie a glance and then headed out to the football field.

Remy and Jamie continued to look at each other. Remy glanced at his watch. Jamie fidgeted. Remy smiled. Jamie shifted from foot to foot and looked towards the door.

"You may as well give up," said Jamie. "I'm not going to let you prank us."

Remy chuckled wickedly. "I can stay here all class."

"Creed will kill you."

"Howlett won't be all that happy with you, either. And you're already in his bad books for not being honest about the Nair prank."

Jamie looked towards the door, then back at Remy, then at the door again. He really, really wished he could duplicate himself so he could be in two places at once. He didn't know what to do. Did he wait it out or did he go to class?

"There is no escape," Remy added slyly. "If not today..."

Finally, in a fit of frustration, Jamie threw up his hands and ran out of the locker room. He wasn't that late, not yet. Hopefully Logan would just let him off with a warning. Remy chuckled. He waited a little longer then casually made his own way out. Victor glared at him the moment he appeared.

"What the hell took you so long, LeBeau?" Victor demanded. "Oh, and by the way, you have detention this afternoon."

"Psychological warfare," Remy replied, mindful of the eyes of his team on him, keeping his voice low enough that the X-Men wouldn't hear.

Victor narrowed his eyes. "You were what now?"

"If all went to plan, then the X-Men—or at least the X-Boys—will be feeling very nervous or angry right now. Possibly both. This should give us a decided advantage in the game today," Remy said, feeling rather pleased with himself.

"Oh really?" Victor asked scornfully.

"Yeah, really. In fact, I would like to offer you a wager; double or nothing. We win, I don't have to do detention. We lose, I do two days," Remy said confidently.

Victor eyed him speculatively, then smirked. "Alright, Cajun. You're on."

Victor continued his address to the team, then sent them out on the field for the game.

"You're crazy, you know that, right?" John said to him.

"But I'm fun," Remy replied, smirking.

Logan frowned as the game unfolded. There was some definite aggression coming from his boys this time around and they weren't exactly being very sportsmanlike towards the Brotherhood. Logan grunted and glanced towards Victor, his half-brother was probably eating it up.

He ended up having to relegate Jamie and Bobby to the sidelines as both boys gotten a little too aggressive for his liking. After the Brotherhood won the game, Logan sent the rest of the team to the locker rooms then gave Jamie and Bobby a lecture on sportsmanlike behaviour before also sending them on their way.

The X-Boys entered the locker room and their cubicles with much trepidation. They checked the curtains, the lockers, the towels, the showerheads, and everywhere else they could think of. When they failed to find a prank, it just made them all the more nervous. None of them had any idea what to think when they finally made it out of the locker rooms intact and seemingly unpranked.

* * *

"Remind me again why we're the ones stuck doing the outside decorating?" Wanda said as she begrudgingly tied yellow streamers to the X-Men's side of the stands.

"Because there's more of them than there are us," Remy replied, tying a bunch of yellow balloons together. "And decorating the gym is a bigger job than this."

"Yeah, for some reason they don't think we can be trusted to work together," John said, wiping off some sweat from under his baseball cap. "I wonder why? Hey, do you reckon there's a way to prank their side?"

"Oh, definitely," Remy said, throwing a grin at him. "But we'll probably get their parents too."

"So?"

"And everyone will know it was us."

"So?"

"So, no matter how harmless, that'll probably mean a detention."

"Oh yeah. Fiddlesticks."

Remy snorted.

Meanwhile, the X-Men were busy at work decorating the gym:

"Hey," said Bobby while on top of a ladder putting up a banner. "Do you suppose there would be a way to prank the Brotherhood?"

"I think any prank we pull here could be easily traced back to us," Kurt replied. "Better not."

* * *

Later, they watched as the other half of the school participated in the Homecoming football game. Tabitha wisely refrained from any trash talking (Victor might be happy to encourage it but she was pretty sure someone like Professor Xavier might have a few things to say to her about it). After everyone said good bye to their guests and returned to their rooms to shower, dress, and otherwise prepare for the dance that evening.

Marie decided to wear gloves again with her little green dress but this time they were for fashion, rather than to irritate her father. As Logan had previously predicted, Marie had stopped wearing gloves come the warmer weather; she wasn't quite as interested in frustrating him as she used to be. Without that drive she had no motivation to wear them in the hotter part of the year.

It was of little surprise to her that Remy asked her to dance almost immediately and she hesitated in taking his hand.

"Okay," she said at last, as she stood up from her seat, "but on one condition."

"Oh?" he inquired with raised eyebrows.

"You need to dance with other girls as well," Marie said firmly.

Remy reluctantly agreed. He would have preferred to monopolise her company again but he understood why she wasn't going to let that happen. On the bright side, he could think of three younger girls he could probably sweep off their feet. School girl crushes were so cute.

Partway through the evening came the moment more of the girls were looking forward to than the boys: the announcing of the Homecoming King and Queen.

"I bet Jean gets it again," Wanda muttered to Marie.

"Probably, why do you care?" Marie asked. "You don't want to be Queen do you?"

"Nah, it's just a silly, meaningless title, and a popularity contest to boot. I just hate the idea of Jean getting it all the time."

Marie chuckled.

"And this year's Homecoming King and Queen are," Professor Xavier announced from the stage. "Remy LeBeau and Jean Grey."

Remy stared in shock at the sound of his name. He was what now?

"All hail King Remy!" John shouted, grinning wickedly at his friend.

Remy threw John a look that said "why are you doing this to me?" He made his way onto the stage alongside Jean to accept his crown, feeling pretty stupid about the whole thing. He was most relieved when he and Jean got off the stage after their 'coronation', even if it was to remain in the spotlight by dancing together.

"So," he said to Jean as they dance. "Do you suppose Scott's annoyed that he's missing out on being voted your king again?"

"I don't really think it bothers him," Jean replied, noting Scott approaching Marie out of the corner of her eye. "He thinks this stuff is silly."

"Oh look, we have something in common after all. Who would have thought?" Remy replied with a smile on his face.

His smile faded a little when they turned and over Jean's shoulder he spotted Marie stepping onto the dance floor with Scott. He told himself he didn't have anything to worry about; Scott was dating Jean. Besides, even if Scott hadn't been it still wouldn't make any difference. As long as he and Bella Donna were engaged, he couldn't be with Marie, they both knew it.

Somehow that knowledge didn't really help to alleviate his jealousy.

The song came to an end but instead of breaking apart, Remy impulsively drew Jean closer and kissed her soundly, dipping her backwards in the process. There was a chorus of "woo!" and applause from most of those watching. Remy grinned devilishly as he finally pulled away and set the startled Jean back on her feet again.

"Go on," he whispered. "Slap me. I dare you."

Jean simply gave him a withering look and headed over to Scott. Remy grinned broadly the moment her back was turned. He then pretended not to see the cynical expression on Marie's face and asked Claire to dance. She accepted with giddy excitement.

"Remy's back to dancing with all the girls, I see," Joanna said snidely to Marie as she returned to the crowd on the sidelines. "What happened? Lovers' quarrel?"

"We're just friends, Jo," Marie replied, tearing her eyes away from watching him dance with Claire.

"That's what we all say."

"Excuse me," Sam said as he approached. He gave a nod to Joanna, then held his hand out to Marie. "May I ask you for a dance?"

Marie smiled and took his hand. "Love to."

Elsewhere, Piotr was happily, but nervously, dancing with Kitty. He was rather pleased with himself for working up the nerve to ask her but now that they were dancing he was feeling anxious about stepping on her toes or worse. He had decided something over the summer though: he was going to ask Kitty out on a date. He wasn't sure how, or when, but he was going to find a way to work up the nerve to do it.

Later that evening, after finishing a dance with Lorna, Erik sidled over to Remy.

"A little young for you, isn't she, Remy?" he said.

"It was just a dance, Mr Lehnsherr," Remy replied, having zero interest in persuading Lorna at all.

"See that it stays that way," Erik said. "I won't be as lenient as Coach Howlett."

"Understood, sir."

* * *

**Continue **onto** JayCee's RedGold's** _Gym Class Anti-Heroes_ – Chapter 6


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30: ****Boomerang Theory**

As it had the year before, football was followed by hockey after Homecoming. On the first day, Victor took a survey of his ten students and then pointed a finger at Tabitha.

"You're the new goalie," he told her and the drills commenced.

Having uneven teams meant that drilling was rather interesting for the X-Men, since when everyone was paired off there was still one person left over. Sometimes Logan drilled with the one, sometimes he created a group of three.

The X-Men and the Brotherhood had their first game against each other that Friday. The X-Men had been wary of Remy and John all week. Since the prank that wasn't a prank occurred, the boys were a little on edge that there was still a prank out there just waiting to pounce. The game made for a nice release of tension.

For Remy, however, the hockey season meant something else entirely. This time last year was when he and Marie hooked up and they had their first kiss. Not for a second had Remy even considered that playing hockey would be heartbreaking, yet it was surprisingly painful. To make matters worse for him, as far as he could tell Marie was completely unaffected by it and that just irritated him all the more for reasons he couldn't define.

They faced off against each other over the ball on the centre line. Their sticks clashed.

"Hockey one. Hockey two," they said together. "Hockey three!"

Remy hit the ball so fast and with such force that it sailed right past Marie, the rest of the X-Men, and was into the goal before their goalkeeper (Alex for the moment) could even blink.

"Dude!"

"No way!"

"They got a point already?"

Remy grinned winningly at Marie as the ball was retrieved.

"Nice shot," she said challengingly. "Can you do it again?"

"Don't encourage him," Kurt joked.

Once the ball was back into position, Remy and Marie had another go. Remy got control straight off again but this time the X-Men were ready for a potential repeat, not that they got one.

Logan watched from the sidelines as the game progressed. There seemed to be a higher level of aggression in the game than usual, although not quite as high as their last football game. That had better not become a habit. He didn't mind team spirit or enthusiasm but aggressive games tended to lead to more injuries. Most of the aggression seemed to be coming from Remy, who seemed to be channelling his into the game. Logan recalled Remy being pretty handy with a hockey stick the year before but he was a force to be reckoned with today. A very angry, accurate force.

Scott moved in to intercept the ball but it wasn't so easy trying to extract it from Remy's control. Suddenly, Scott was on the floor, staring at Remy's back as he whisked off with the ball and shot another goal for the Brotherhood.

"Hey," Scott objected. "He tripped me."

"Don't blame me if you can't keep your balance, Summers," Remy retorted coolly.

* * *

"Are you okay?" Marie asked as she sat down net to Remy at their new usual table. John and Wanda hadn't arrived yet.

"Oui," Remy replied, poking at his lunch with his fork.

"You just seemed angry about something in gym today," Marie said, looking at him searchingly.

Remy shrugged.

"And I noticed that there were quite a few X-Men who fell at your feet..." she went on.

"What can I say, chère?" he replied with his characteristic smirk: "I have that effect on people."

He was glad that John and Wanda arrived then, because it put an end to Marie's probing questions. He really wanted her to say that she was wrong, she missed him, and she wanted to get back together. It was less than a year before he was going to get married and he really wanted to make the most of it with Marie.

But at the same time, Remy knew it couldn't be. He was smart and self-aware enough to realise that if he couldn't just be friends with Marie now there was no way he'd be able to just be friends with her after he got married. Their parents didn't even tolerate them dating other people now, there was no chance in hell they'd ever tolerate an affair. And that was assuming Bella Donna didn't go through with her threat to kill Marie first.

Somehow, and he had no idea how, he was just going to have to get over her.

* * *

Ororo chewed thoughtfully while contemplating whether to ask Logan her next question. They did try to avoid discussing the students while they were on their dates, although Marie was the general exception to the rule.

"Do you happen to know what happened between Marie and Remy?" she asked at last.

"Why do you ask?" Logan asked as he picked up his drink.

"I know they're not dating any more," Ororo replied with a slight frown on her features. "What I don't know is why. Normally I wouldn't pry but Remy just hasn't seemed himself."

Logan frowned. "He seems just as annoying as always to me."

"Did you not tell me that he's been more aggressive in gym, lately? It seems only a little thing but I know him, Logan. Something has happened and he is hurting," Ororo said firmly. "My best guess is that in the aftermath of another break up—regardless of whether he calls the girls he dates his girlfriend or not—he is the one who is heartbroken for a change."

Logan grunted. "He'll get over it, just like the rest of us had to."

Ororo didn't reply immediately and finally she said, "You did not answer my question."

"I know what happened," Logan said after a moment's hesitation, "but I'd be breaking confidences if I told you the details. Let's just say I believe Marie did the right thing in breaking things off."

Ororo nodded, accepting his words since she knew well what it was like to be in that position. Logan, on the other hand, was a bit more concerned about the exchange. He just wasn't sure how to deal with the idea that some teenage boy might be genuinely in love with his daughter.

* * *

A couple of Saturdays later, once Remy and John felt that the X-Men were good and softened up, they took to the boys dorms early in the morning and taped newspaper over the doorways of each of their rival X-Men. Scott, Piotr, Jamie, Bobby, Roberto, and Alex were forced to punch through a wall of newspaper before they were able to leave their rooms. Some thought it was funny, others just pointless and annoying. Remy and John felt that as long as they reacted, it wasn't pointless.

The Brotherhood won hockey season, then gym class moved onto gymnastics. Jubilee, Kurt, and Remy stole the show as they had the year before with their greater skill.

"I'm amazed anyone can do half the stuff you do," Marie commented to Kurt between turns on the bars.

"Practise," Kurt replied with a slight smile, secretly proud that he'd impressed his sister. He knew he was impressed with her skills in martial arts. "Lots and lots of practice. I love seeing the circus and watching real, professional acrobats."

"Ever think about running away and joining them?" Marie asked with a sly grin.

Kurt chuckled. "Occasionally. But I think my father would figure out where I went and drag me back soon enough. He only lets me have lessons because it's good exercise—not a good career."

"LeBeau!" they heard Victor yell from the other side of the room. "Stop gawking and start paying attention!"

Everyone turned and looked at Remy who hastily had looked back to the vault, it being his turn. Marie had the uncomfortable feeling he had been looking at her. She sighed and turned her attention back to their own line. This whole thing was turning out a lot harder than she thought it would. She and Cody had been able to go back to being friends just fine, but she and Remy weren't really working out the same way. She supposed the fact that they'd never formalised their arrangement made things more difficult than they should have been too. Now the group they shared with Wanda and John was reversed. Wanda and John were dating while she and Remy were the couple that wanted to date but weren't.

"So, umm," Kurt said tentatively. "What's with you and Remy?"

By now everyone had seen that they weren't dating, although they were still hanging out. The really odd thing was that Remy hadn't immediately taken up with someone else. Kurt had been privy to much speculation from the older students about it.

"Nothing," Marie replied. "Just nothing."

* * *

Bobby and Jamie retaliated against the Brotherhood for their newspaper prank by sneaking into the bedrooms of the Brotherhood in the middle of the night and drawing pictures on their faces with black marker. Since Bobby and Jamie both lived in the same dorm building, they roped in Piotr and Alex to do the same in theirs. Of the seven Brothers, only Remy escaped without a graffitied face.

"Oh come on," Bobby complained the next morning—Saturday—over breakfast. "How could you possibly miss Remy? He was the most important one. Well, him and Pyro."

"We could not open his door," Piotr replied with a shrug.

"Yeah," Alex added with a nod. "He must have pushed something in front of the door, 'cause it wouldn't budge."

"We may have opened if it we used more force but then we would have wakened him," Piotr said.

"But you should see the toad that Pete drew on Todd's face!" Alex said excitedly. "It looks so cool."

"Todd the Toad," said Kurt.

"Todd Tolanski the Toad," Jamie amended with a giggle.

This humiliation couldn't go unpunished but both the Brotherhood and the X-Men were surprised when Remy and Pyro merely newspapered the bedroom doorways again. Jamie took great pride in just stepping through instead of punching a hole first.

"Man, they deserve something worse than that," Todd complained. "They drew a toad on my face! You just repeated the same prank."

Remy merely shrugged in reply while John smirked.

"Hey kid, if you don't like it, you do your own pranks," John said, secretly glad that it was a little chilly that night and he wore a t-shirt to bed. It mortified him that they could have seen his scars because he was such a sound sleeper.

The X-Men decided not to take pity on the so-called "prank kings" losing their touch. They followed up with putting rubber snakes and spiders in the Brotherhood's cubicles in the boys locker room, which succeeded in startling most of the Brothers upon their return. None of them foresaw Remy's reaction.

"Mon dieu! Snake! It's a snake!" he screeched and scrambled out of the cubicle into the furthest corner of the locker room. "Keep it away from me!"

This display had many of the other boys in tears from laughing, right up until Remy started hyperventilating.

"Umm, okay guys, this isn't funny," Scott spoke up. "Some people have very real phobias. Remy, are you okay? The snake was just a fake."

Remy didn't reply. He was too busy having his freak out.

"Guys," Scott said, looking at Bobby and Jamie, while walking over to Remy. "You need to get rid of it, okay? And all the other ones you have."

"Yeah, yeah," Bobby said.

Scott waited until Bobby took the rubber snake out of Remy's cubicle and then turned his attention back to the other boy. "It's gone now, Remy."

Remy looked at Scott with distrusting eyes. "Gone?"

"Gone. I promise. It's safe."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Really and truly?"

"Yeah," Scott said, clearly unimpressed with this conversation. "And I think certain people owe you an apology."

He gave a pointed look to the X-Men pranksters. Bobby and Jamie looked at each other, then at Remy. With a sigh, they said in resignation, "We're sorry, Remy."

Remy took a deep breath with distress still written on his face.

"Happy now, Remy?" John asked from where he was leaning against the wall with a sly smirk on his face.

"Oui," Remy replied, slowly standing up. "I think so."

"Oh, good," John said and started applauding. "Bravo, bravo! That was a masterful performance. You know, I have to say, I really like the work on the breathing there. It sounded very authentic. You should win an Oscar."

Remy grinned at him and gave a bow and flourish. "Thank you, thank you, one and all."

"Wait, you mean..." Scott paled and trailed off.

"Yeah," Remy smirked. "And that, mes amis, is what we call a prank backfiring. By the way, thanks for the concern, Summers. For future reference, the only thing I'm scared of is Dracula cosplayers."

Scott glared at Gambit. "Very funny."

"I thought so."

Word of the backfired prank got around, with some people laughing along with Remy and asking for re-enactments (he wouldn't oblige) and others thinking that the original prank was horrible and if they had been Remy they really would have freaked out.

As if to add insult to injury, or alternatively, injury to insult, that Saturday morning Jamie and Bobby opened their bedroom doors only to find the doorways had been covered in newspaper again. They both opted to just walk through it rather than make a hole first and ended up walking right into a table that had been put on its side so that the tabletop faced the doorway. How Remy and John had managed it without the dorm parent, Guido, noticing was anyone guess.

"I have a joke," John said. "What has two heads, is covered in newspaper, and yells 'ow my nose!'"

"Jamie and Bobby walking into a table," Remy replied with a smirk.

John chuckled wickedly.

* * *

The semester came to a close before they knew it, and like the majority, Remy made his preparations to go home for the Christmas break. In the past, Remy looked forward to the break, but this year all he could think about was how he only had one semester left. He wondered if it was too late to get out of the marriage and negotiate another peace treaty with the Assassins Guild. He had his doubts and decided to talk to Bella Donna about it while he was in New Orleans. He knew she wasn't happy about the arranged marriage either, although she had accepted it as he had.

It was pretty easy to organise time alone with Bella Donna since they always had time alone. In fact, their relationship was outright encouraged and they were more or less given all the alone time they wanted, within reason. As it happened, the first chance they got was in his bedroom two days after he returned from school. He closed the door behind them, wondering how to open things.

"Remy," Bella Donna said with a note of nervousness in her voice. Remy looked up to see her standing by the foot of the bed and not on it like he'd expected.

"Oui, ma chère?" he replied curiously.

"We need to talk."

Remy raised an eyebrow and perched on the side of the bed. Maybe she wanted out of the marriage too?

"Okay?" he inquired.

Bella Donna took a deep breath and stood in front of him, hesitated, then perched beside him. She was quiet for a moment while Remy studied her curiously, then she took his hand and looked him right in the eye.

"I'm pregnant."

Remy gaped at her. She looked back and then glared at him when he didn't immediately respond.

"Well?" she demanded. "Say something, you dolt!"

"Oh uhh, désolé," he stammered. "I just... you just... are you sure?"

"Am I sure, he asks," Bella Donna muttered under her breath and continued sarcastically, "No I just go around telling people I'm pregnant now for kicks. Of course I'm sure!"

"Well, you may have just suspected it—"

"Then I would have said that I think I might be. That isn't what I said," she snapped at him.

Remy threw up his hands in surrender. "Désolé, désolé! That just... it wasn't really what I was expecting when you said you wanted to talk. I just umm... yeah, wow. Pregnant."

Bella Donna smacked him upside the head.

"Ow, hey," he objected, rubbing the back of his head. "What was that for?"

"For being a dork," she replied haughtily.

"Thanks a lot. Does everyone know about this?"

"No. I only just confirmed it myself. I figured I should tell you first," Bella Donna said, then slid back on the bed far enough to put her feet on the bed as well. She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. "I just... I don't know how I'm going to tell everyone."

Remy was quiet for a moment, then wrapped his arms around her, kissing her cheek gently. There'd be no way out of the marriage now, he doubted there ever had been.

"We'll tell them together," he said, "and hey, think of it this way, now we won't have to worry about anyone pressuring us to provide an heir for the United Guilds after we get married."

Bella Donna half laughed, half growled, and punched him lightly in the chest with her closest hand. "Idiot."

"Hey, you have to admit, it would have happened," Remy said, grinning slyly at her.

"Probably, but you didn't have to say it."

"Are you kidding me? I have every intention of saying it when we tell our parents."

He felt Bella Donna stiffen in his arms, he looked at her curiously. "You okay?"

"This is not how I imagined telling our parents we were pregnant," she admitted. "I thought we were careful."

"We were. We always are," he said gently. "I guess no matter how many methods of protection you use there's always that little tiny chance something will happen."

"I guess."

Another silence fell and Remy sought for a way to fill it, some part of him knowing that if he gave himself too much time to think he was just going to flip out.

"So, do you know when you're due?" he asked.

"June."

"June?" he repeated with a slight frown. "You sure?"

Bella Donna jabbed him. "Stop asking that. Of course I'm sure."

"It's just that seems a bit long. I mean, I was last here in August and that's..." Remy paused and mentally calculated. "Wouldn't it be May?"

"Early June," Bella Donna clarified. "And newsflash, Remy; conception doesn't happen overnight. Those little swimmers of yours can hang around for a couple of days before any of my girls come out and even then it's still not instantaneous. So yeah, it's entirely possible that even though the last time we had sex was the day before you left, I didn't technically conceive until after you were back at school for a couple of days. I can't believe you didn't know that. What the hell are they even teaching you at that place?"

"I slept through sex ed. I thought I knew it all already."

"Thought is right."

* * *

**Continue** onto **JayCee's RedGold's** _Gym Class Anti-Heroes_ – Chapter 7


	31. This Thing Called Life

**Chapter 31: ****This Thing Called Life**

He was going to be a father.

Remy was back at school after the Christmas break. It was Saturday night, although technically he wasn't supposed to arrive until Sunday. He'd had a "good run with traffic" and most people he said that to figured out what he really meant.

Now he sat alone in the dark, looking out on the lake with a couple of beers, thinking over things. He was too young to be a father. He hadn't even finished school yet! Kids weren't supposed to come until after he and Bella Donna were married. Way after they were married. At least ten years. Maybe twenty.

"Hello?"

Remy jumped, having been so absorbed in his thoughts he hadn't heard Marie coming towards him until now. He looked and saw her only a few feet away shining a light around. He considered not saying anything but the words emerged from his mouth all the same.

"Hey, Rogue," he said, "over here."

Marie shone the light in his direction but was careful to keep it down low, not wanting to hit him in the face. She should have guessed it would have been him here; he was the only one who would go around at night without a light.

"Hey," she said as she made her way over and sat down beside him. "I thought I saw someone go by."

"You must have been looking at just the right moment then," Remy replied with a shrug.

"Must have," she agreed and the light fell on the couple of beers he had at his feet. "Where'd you get those?"

"Stole 'em from Creed."

"Are you crazy?"

"What's he gonna do? Grow claws and gut me?" Remy asked. "Besides, he'd probably just blame your dad anyway."

"That's not the point, Remy. And what in the world are you doing out here in the dead of night drinking beer anyway?"

"Felt like it."

"Did something happen?"

Remy was quiet for a moment. He had no intention whatsoever of telling anyone at the school about the baby but Marie already knew pretty much every thing else already anyway. And there was a good chance at least some of the teachers would find out, since Jean-Luc had already decided he would have to come home when the baby was born, if only briefly.

"Bella Donna's pregnant," he said.

"Oh." Marie tried to figure out how she felt about that and had no idea. "Are congratulations in order?"

Remy shrugged. "I guess."

"You don't sound very happy about it."

"Why should I be?" Remy asked glumly. "I'm going to be a father even before I get married. Merde, aren't I going to have enough responsibilities? Having a wife, learning the ropes of running the family business... I thought I'd at least still be able to do my own thing for a little while. What the hell do I know about raising kids?"

"About as much as Bella Donna, I'm guessing."

"Not helping."

"Sorry, sugar. I wish I knew what would but I don't know a whole lot about raising kids either," she said. "But you're pretty smart and everything. I'll sure you'll figure it out."

"Thanks for your vote of confidence."

Marie wrapped her arm around his shoulders. Remy finished off the bottle of Canadian beer he'd been drinking. One thing he did have to give this news about the baby, it had all but stopped him from pining over Marie almost overnight. He supposed that's what a whole new set of priorities would do to a person, in this case, finding something new to stew over.

A part of him wished just a little bit that if he had to get anyone pregnant, it had been Marie. Sure, he wasn't happy about the fatherhood part but it would have put a stop to the wedding and he could've stayed with her. Well, that was assuming his family wouldn't have tried to hush it up somehow so the Assassins didn't find out. The Assassins would be pretty angry about the pact being broken, might have even restarted the war between their guilds... It was probably better it was Bella Donna and not Marie who got pregnant.

"Rogue?"

"Yeah?"

"I'd like to keep this to myself. I mean, some of the teachers—maybe even your dad—will probably find out later but right now..."

"Gotcha. I promise I won't say a word."

"Merci."

Marie gave him a gentle squeeze and then kissed his cheek. Remy hated how much he liked that kiss.

"By the way, Remy?"

"Yeah?"

"You stink like beer."

* * *

The first week back in gym class finished up their gymnastics season. It primarily focused on vaulting in preparation for the second week: the obstacle course.

"Welcome to the danger room," Kurt said gleefully to Roberto and Alex. "I have the best course time out of the X-Men. I even nearly beat Remy last year. No one ever beats Remy."

"Maybe this year, huh?" Marie said slyly while Roberto and Alex stared at the obstacle course in awe. "And just think, after Remy graduates this year, it'll be your time everyone will be trying to beat."

"I didn't think of that," Kurt considered, "but I'm still going to try and beat Remy's time this year."

"Glad to hear it," said Scott.

"Alright you lot," Logan bellowed from the side of the gym. "Stop gawking and start changing!"

The students, X-Men and Brotherhood alike, hurried off to their respective locker rooms. They returned shortly and headed over to their coaches who gave them the usual rundown on the course. Finally, everyone lined up and Remy and Kurt were put at the front of the two lines.

"And... go," Logan announced as the timekeeper that class.

Remy and Kurt threw themselves on the floor and crawled through the tunnel. Once they were back on their feet they ran through the tyres, then did the vault over the horse. After that, they climbed over the three tyre swings, then crossed the balance beam, ran through a horizontal ladder, and finally climbed up a rope to hit the marker at the top. While Kurt took it seriously, determined to beat Remy this year, Remy did his usual showing off. Much to Logan's annoyance when he clocked their times, Remy not only beat Kurt but he also beat his best time from the previous year (that time had been etched in his mind). Logan just didn't think it was right that someone showing off that much should be so fast. It set a bad example to the others who seemed to think they'd be able to do the same thing.

Once Remy and Kurt had cleared enough of the course, Logan sent the next students through. Victor manned the vault, ready to spot those who needed it.

When everyone had completed the course, Logan read out the best times from both sides. It was of little surprise to anyone that Remy had gotten the best time, he'd flown through the course. Kurt was disappointed their times weren't closer though.

"So," Remy said, stretching his arms above his head. "Do I get to rack in any reward points for kicking everyone's butts again this year?"

"Yeah, same thing as last year," Victor said to his team. "Three reward points each time one of you beats every X-Man over the line."

"Last year it was five," Remy pointed out.

"Well, this year it's three." Victor glared at him.

The X-Men looked expectantly at Logan.

"Three points to whoever comes first each class, two to second, and one to third," Logan told them, "and I may give out bonus points to those who show the most improvement."

"You can't be serious," Victor asked Logan scornfully.

"My students. I'll reward them in the manner I see fit," Logan replied, and turned his attention back to his team: "Okay, kids. Hit the showers."

* * *

Tuesday's gym class went much the same as the day before, then on Wednesday they did their weekly one-mile run. While they warmed up in preparation for the course on Thursday, Marie happened to notice the look of grim determination on Kurt's face.

"You really wanna beat Remy, don't you?" she said.

"Yeah," Kurt replied.

"Why? It can't be for those reward points," Marie asked as she stretched her legs.

"Just to see if I can."

"And to wipe the smirk off his face," Scott added, flashing a look in Remy's direction. "It's bad enough he beats all of us all the time, but he shows off as well."

"Just think how much a better time he'd have if he didn't show off," Jean said slyly.

"No thanks," Scott said.

"Actually, not all his showing off is actually showing off," Marie said. "Yeah he likes to do things 'in style' but have you ever noticed he doesn't actually stop between obstacles?"

"What do you mean he doesn't stop?" Scott asked. "Of course he does. We all do."

Marie shook her head. "You watch him. When he gets up out of the tunnel, his second step puts him in the first tyre. He's already running for the vault when he gets his foot out of the last tyre. And while he might show off doing flashy vaults, when he lands he doesn't stop to make sure he has his balance or anything, he just moves on."

"Interesting observation there," Logan said, having overheard the conversation.

Marie shrugged. "You know last year when he jumped from the tyre swing to the balance beam? I'm surprised he doesn't do that more often."

"I remember that," Kurt said with a frown. "He blew me a kiss."

"Yeah, I think that's about the only time I remember him actually stopping on the course," Marie said.

"Hmm. Alright," Logan said. "Marie, I want you up first. Kurt, go towards the end of the line so you can watch Remy. This might be interesting."

"Or y'all think I'm seeing things," Marie replied mischievously.

Shortly thereafter, the students lined up for the course. Remy grinned at Marie when he realised he was going to be starting with her this time.

"Well, now," he said, "Won't this be a fun little dance?"

"You dance, Swamp Rat. I'm gonna compete."

It was Logan's turn to keep time again and thus he was the one who gave the signal for them to begin. The X-Men, all curious about Marie's observations about Remy, watched him with more interest than usual. Sure enough, just as Marie had said, his second step out of the tunnel was into the tyres, as was Marie's who had evidentially figured out how he pulled off that little trick.

In his usual manner, Remy did a fancy vault over the horse while Marie's was simpler and more practical. From there they made their way over to the tyre swings, Remy with a greater fluidity. The tyre swings had short ladders leading up and down. Most of the student would climb these one rung at a time, and then turn to the side so that they could get their feet in the tyres. Remy took the ladder two rungs at a time and turned his body to the side in the process so he could put his foot in the first tyre straight away. At the other end, while most of the others would climb down the ladder, Remy usually jumped down in a way that many would refer to as "showing off" and then used his momentum to mount onto the balance beam.

His dismount off the balance beam, although usually just as showy as his entire performance on that particular piece of equipment, generally landed him much closer to the horizontal ladder than the dismounts of most of the other students could lay claim to. When he got to the rope, he grabbed it as soon as he was in arm's reach, rather than stop and then grab like everyone else did.

"Good observation there," Logan murmured to Marie when she finally made it to the end.

"Thanks," Marie replied.

Having watched Remy and seen all the things Marie had pointed out, Kurt tried doing it himself when it came to his turn through the course. It was easier said than done to stay on the move and using the transition between obstacles to prepare for the next but he did manage to shave some time off.

Kurt redoubled his efforts in Fridays gym class and saw further improvement. The course started to feel less like a race against Remy and more like a game.

* * *

Upon his return to the dorm after school that day, Remy found there was mail waiting for him, a small light parcel from Henri. He put it under his arm and headed into his room where he gratefully dumped his laptop bag on the desk, then sat on the bed and opened the parcel. Inside, carefully sandwiched between pieces of thick cardboard to keep it flat was a paperback book titled "So You're Going To Be a Dad". Remy groaned and smacked himself on the forehead with it.

"Do not want to deal with this," he muttered to himself.

He lowered the book again and looked at the cover. There was a cartoon of a man looking at a street sign. One direction said "having a life" and the other said "being a dad". There was note just behind the front cover, which Remy pulled out.

_Hi Remy,  
I really think you need to read this book. Especially the first chapter. You seem to have some holes in your sexual education.  
From Henri  
P.S. You sly dog you_

A little reluctantly Remy opened the book to the first chapter, flipping through the contents page and the introduction. The first subheading read "Sex and Its Side Effects" with "WARNING: The Surgeon General advises that sex may cause children" written in italics underneath. Remy groaned and promptly closed the book, which he tossed on his bedside table alongside the other books he was reading. He really didn't want to deal with this right now—or at all.

In fact, he wanted to think about something else completely: like pranking the X-Men.

* * *

Much like the cubicles in the locker room, everyone had "their" seat at "their" table in the cafeteria. There was a little shuffling made for the day students, who only ate with them during school hours, but otherwise everyone was in the routine of staying in the same places. After some consideration, Remy sneaked into the cafeteria at a time he knew it would be empty before dinner and targeted the two tables that the X-Men primarily sat at.

First, he switched the salt and sugar around so that the salt was in the sugar bowl and the sugar was in the salt shaker. Then he switched the sauces around, using new bottles he had acquired from a trip down town that morning, so that they were in different coloured containers.

The prank ended up going a little better than he expected, since the sauce bottle got figured out at dinner time, but the salt and sugar weren't identified—at least not completely—until the next morning.

* * *

"Classic," Kurt said on Monday when his friends told him during roll call.

"You wouldn't think so if you had put salt on your corn flakes," Bobby replied.

"You put sugar on your corn flakes?" Kurt asked. "Doesn't it have enough sugar?"

"No."

"Stupid question," Jubilee said with a chuckle.

"I think we need to come up with more pranks," said Bobby. "I mean, we still haven't gotten back at Remy and Pyro for making Jamie and me walk into tables."

Kurt snickered. "That was a good one. I wish I'd seen it."

"Yeah? Well, I wish I hadn't felt it," Bobby grumbled.

"You know what I think would be the best way to get back at them?" Jubilee said gleefully. "If Kurt beat Remy at the obstacle course."

"That's the plan," Kurt replied with a nod.

"You've only got four more days, then it's off to the next sport," Jubilee pointed out warningly.

"I know," Kurt said. "You know something? I think I'm finally starting to appreciate why Remy seems to like doing the obstacle course so much."

"Because he always gets the best time?" Bobby suggested.

Kurt shook his head. "No, 'cause it's fun."

"Fun?" Bobby and Jubilee repeated in disbelief.

"Yeah," Kurt insisted.

"Nu-uh," Jubilee replied. "You're crazy if you think that thing is fun."

"Then I guess I'm crazy."

* * *

Despite his best efforts, Kurt didn't beat Remy's time that day or the next. Strangely though, he found that as much as he wanted to beat Remy's time, he was more interested in beating his own time.

Kurt wasn't the only one who had taken Marie's observations to heart, though. The other X-Men had heard them and some of them weren't quite as careful as they should have been when trying to streamline their own turn through the course. There were some falls and missteps, but nothing serious. The top three on the X-Men side were Kurt, Marie, and Jean. On the Brotherhood: Remy, Pietro, and Todd did very well.

Wednesday was their usual one mile run. On Thursday's class, Kurt was on fire. He was in the zone and the rest of the world seemed to fade away. He knew he had done well but it was more that he knew he had done well in himself. He didn't need to know what his actual time was or how it compared to everyone else.

They finished their run for the day and once everyone was settled, Logan read out the times, starting with the fastest.

"Wagner."

Everyone stopped. Everyone was so used to Remy's last name being announced that they weren't even sure they'd heard right.

"And in second place, three seconds behind," Logan went on, rather enjoying this. "LeBeau."

Remy blinked. He came second? He never came second. How in the world did that happen?

"Wait a second," Victor said, stalking over to Logan and snatching the tablet away from him. "Lemme see that."

"Omigod," Kitty exclaimed, gaping at Kurt. "You did it. You actually did it. You beat Remy!"

The penny finally dropped. Suddenly there was an outpouring of congratulations and expressions of amazed disbelief. People looked at Remy to see how he was reacting. Victor accused Logan of cheating. Logan accused Victor of being a poor loser. Finally, Remy cleared his throat (silencing the room of all but Logan and Victor who seemed to be more interested in their argument) and walked over to Kurt with his hand outstretched.

"Good for you," Remy said. "Nice to know that although I shall be graduating this year, there will still be someone around who can kick this course's butt."

Kurt grinned at him as he shook his hand. "You betcha. It's fun, isn't it?"

"Oui," Remy said, then leaned in. "By the way, tomorrow? It's on."

"Hmm," Marie said with a look towards her father and her uncle. "Why do I have the feeling we're going to have to ask Ms Monroe to officiate again?"

* * *

**AN: **The book "So You're Going To Be a Dad" by Peter Downey actually exists. I haven't read it, but going from the preview pages on Amazon it looks like it would be a laugh (and hopefully informative too, hehe).

Spoiler alert! The winner of the "rematch" between Remy and Kurt is whoever would win in your headcanon ;)

**Continue** onto Chellerbelle's _Gym Class Heroes_ – Chapter 32


	32. Scandalous Scholastics

**Chapter 32: Scandalous Scholastics **

Marie frowned at the sight before her: Remy was leaning over the counter flirting shamelessly with the girl behind the cash register. It was Sunday and they had decided to go downtown, watch a movie, and do a little shopping. They'd done trips like this a few times now and while a part of Marie wished that they were dating still, she was pleased that they were able to pull off such outings without it feeling too much like a date, just two friends hanging out.

That didn't make seeing Remy flirt with another girl any easier.

"Hi," Marie said, dumping the two shirts she intended to buy on the counter. "So, if you're done being a man-whore, Remy—"

"Hey!" Remy objected.

"—I'd like to buy these now."

The cashier quickly started scanning the shirts. She had enjoyed Remy's flirting but she had no interest in getting into the middle of a fight with the pair.

"I am not a man-whore," Remy said stubbornly, folding his arms across his chest.

"Uh huh, yeah, sure Casanova," Marie retorted.

Before Remy could object any further, the cashier read out the total. Marie handed over the cash and grabbed her bag.

"We were just having a friendly conversation," Remy insisted.

"Of course you were. All your conversations are just friendly," Marie replied, accepting the change and receipt. "And all those girls you date? They're just friends."

"That's not fair," Remy said, following as Marie stalked out of the store.

Marie didn't reply at first but then stopped in the middle of the walkway in front of the store so abruptly Remy nearly walked into her. She glared at him.

"Not fair?" she repeated in a hushed but angry tone. "You have a fiancée and a baby on the way."

"Don't remind me," he snapped at her in the same hushed tone.

"Don't remind you? On the contrary, I think that's exactly what you need: to be reminded," Marie said, poking him in the chest with her free hand. "You can't go around flirting with other women when you have a fiancée, let alone a pregnant fiancée. How irresponsible and—"

"Hey, Belle and I have a deal—"

"Yeah, I'm just so happy for you that you have an open engagement," Marie replied sarcastically. "So, how 'open' do you think she's being at the moment?"

"That was uncalled for."

"No, what's uncalled for is your behaviour. Have some consideration and maturity for once."

"You know what? No. I think I'd like to pass on that," Remy said stubbornly. "I've got five months until I become a father and six before I become a husband. I think I'd really prefer to make the most of the time I have left to be as irresponsible and immature as possible."

"Oh come on, do not give me that crap," Marie replied scornfully. "Your life is not ending just because you're getting married and becoming a father. This is you I'm talking to. One way or another you'll find a way to get the most out of it because that's what you do. You get the most out of life."

"Has it ever occurred to you that I try to get the most out of my life now because it's ending in six months?" Remy demanded.

"Has it ever occurred to you that you're never going to lose that drive?" Marie retorted, then backed off shaking her head. "You know what? Forget it. Go and do whatever the heck you want. I feel sorry for Belle, she's going to have to look after two babies."

* * *

"Okay kids," Logan said to his team on the following Monday's gym class. "For the next two weeks we'll be playing dodgeball."

He explained the rules both for the benefit of the new students and to refresh the pre-existing ones. Everyone noticed that he explicitly stated that no handstands or any other such silliness was allowed. Then the practising began.

Towards the end of their Thursday class, Logan called the drills short and gathered his team together for a strategy session. After their conspiracy against Remy last year, Logan wanted to make sure this year would be free of bullying. As it happened, Marie addressed the events of the previous year immediately:

"You guys had better not even be considering doing what you did last year and all aiming for Remy," she said with a lingering gaze on Scott and Jean in particular. "Because if I see y'all doing something like that again, I'll see to it that you lose every match."

"Not that I have any problems with dropping that particular strategy," Scott replied, "but how in the world could you make us lose every match? This is a team sport."

Marie smiled. "I'll aim for Tabitha. You know, if she's not already out yelling insults at everyone."

"Some of us aren't distracted by that sort of thing," Scott pointed out, personally pleased with his own ability to tune Tabitha out.

"And I might suddenly have this streak of bad luck where I keep pulling teammates in the way of balls instead of pushing them out of the way."

"Ahem," Logan cut in before anything could get any worse. "I'm sure we can all agree there won't be any conspiracies or streaks of bad luck. Now, do we want to move onto actual strategy?"

There was a pause, and then Scott spoke up once more:

"Well, I think that those of us who are good at dodging should be in front, and those of us who are good at catching should be at the back," he said. "That way the catchers have more reaction time."

Although they only had a few minutes, it was a very productive few minutes with Scott and Marie dominating the conversation. By the time Logan sent the back to the locker rooms, he was rather pleased with how well things went and was very much looking forward to the game the following day.

* * *

After referring to the entire class as maggots again, Victor began Friday's class by reiterating the rules for their first game of dodgeball against each other.

"...and no handstands, flips, cartwheels, or any other behaviour that involves your head going below your waist," Victor said.

"What if someone hits you with the ball so hard you fall over?" Remy called out.

Victor glared at Remy. "Accidents excepted. Smart-ass behaviour is punishable by detention; like looking for loopholes, LeBeau."

"Right," Logan said, for once agreeing with his half-brother. "This is a safety issue, not Creed and I trying to be assholes. We don't want anyone to end up with concussion again."

"Speak for yourself, Coach Howlett," Remy said, in the mood to be reckless with Victor. "Coach Creed always wants to be an asshole."

"Detention," Victor said, glaring at Remy.

"I rest my case," Remy said, smirking as he lazily stretched his arms above his head.

"Two detentions," Victor amended, his glare deepening.

"Go on," Remy eyes were blazing with mischief as he challenged his coach. "Make it three. I dare you."

"Ahem," Logan cut in before the exchange could get any further. "Let's begin."

"Has anyone ever told you you're stupid?" John murmured to Remy as they headed for their side of the dodgeball court.

"Not recently."

"Well, you're stupid."

"It's just detention. It's not like it's anything major," Remy replied with a shrug.

"Right," John answered skeptically, their conversation brought short by the coaches getting the game started.

Marie chose to be the first of the X-Men to sit on the sidelines so that the teams were even. She watched with interest, noting with relief no one had decided to conspire behind her back and target only Remy. She was rather pleased to see that her's and Scott's strategising was paying off; the Brotherhood were having a much harder time trying to get X-Men out.

Not being on the sidelines didn't stop Tabitha from speaking out, however:

"You call that a throw? You couldn't hit a wall with a beach ball!" she declared, then did a little dance that ended with her jutting out her butt and giving it a smack. "Oh yeah, can't touch this."

She then continued dancing while singing "can't touch this". Her dance was surprisingly effective in dodging balls right up until Kitty—who also liked to dance—predicted her next move and aimed for the space, rather than Tabitha. It was fairly effective in knocking Tabitha over.

"You were saying?" Kitty asked smugly.

Tabitha pulled herself up, not needing Victor's call to head for the benches. "Kiss my ass, Pryde."

"No thanks," Kitty retorted, narrowly missing a ball that Pietro threw at her, trying to take advantage of the distraction. "I have taste."

The X-Men's strategy paid off and they won the game with plenty of time to spare before the end of class. In fact, there was just enough time leftover that Victor made the Brotherhood run a couple of laps before sending them to the locker room.

* * *

Bobby, Jamie, Jubilee, and Kitty watched as Piotr painstakingly worked on his snowman. While some teenagers felt like they were too old for such activities, Piotr's efforts were more like a work of art. It had defined arms and legs, for one, and Piotr was actually carving a face into the head instead of using sticks or whatever else might be lying around.

"I really want to pull a prank on Remy," Jamie said.

"Me too, but we have to think of something really, really good," Bobby said, nodding. "If a prank doesn't backfire, he's gone and figured out a way to prevent it from being pulled on him."

"Or he figures out what happened so quickly that we miss out on half the fun of pulling it. Like putting the tape on the showerheads that one time," Jamie added.

"Well, then we need to figure out something he can't avoid and something he can't twist around," Jubilee said thoughtfully.

Silence fell as the three starting thinking. Bobby quickly tired of this activity and started making a snowball. Seeing that Kitty was intent on watching Piotr at work, he sneaked up behind her and shoved the snowball down the back of her jacket. Kitty squealed and wriggled as Bobby burst into laughter.

"Hey!" Kitty objected.

She turned and tackled him to the ground so she could shove snow down his shirt.

"Maybe we should do that to Remy," Jubilee said, watching them with a giggle.

"Nah," said Jamie. "Have you forgotten martial arts last year? He'd probably kick our butts and another prank would backfire."

"Oh yeah."

"Oooh! Oooh! Idea!" Bobby said gleefully as Kitty let him up, her vengeance now satisfied. "We should put a snowball in his room."

"A snowball in his room?" Jubilee repeated dubiously.

"A really big one," Bobby said nodding his head eagerly and spreading his arms as wide as they would go.

"How would we even get a snowball that big in there?" asked Jamie.

"We could get a group of us and all take smaller snowballs up and then pack them together in one big one," Bobby said, liking this idea the more he thought about it. "He can't avoid a giant snowball in his room! And there's no way he could make that backfire."

"Well, unless he made smaller snowballs out of the big snowball and threw them at us," Jubilee said,

"That's just revenge, not a backfire," Bobby insisted. "Besides, it can't be that hard to stay out of throwing range. And he'll have to get rid of it quick anyway."

"Yeah if you do this, you should probably have something on the floor first," Kitty said cautiously. "I mean, if it's given a chance to melt, it'll soak the floor. And if the carpet gets too soaked and can't dry out properly, then it'll get smelly and yucky, Remy'll probably have to switch rooms, and someone will have to be hired to clean the carpet. And there will probably be detention involved if they find out who did it—or maybe regardless of if they find out who did it. That definitely sounds like a backfire to me."

Bobby sighed dramatically. "Fine. We'll put something on the floor in case it melts. Take all the fun out of it."

"And we should have the window open so it stays cold," Jubilee said thoughtfully. "Or you should, since us girls aren't allowed in the boys dorms."

"Good idea," Bobby said gleefully. "Then his room will have a giant snowball in it _and_ be icy-cold. C'mon, we should get Alex and Roberto to help us. Hey, Piotr, you in?"

Piotr didn't respond, intent on his ice sculpting.

"I'd say he has better things to do right now," Kitty said for him.

Bobby shrugged. "His loss."

* * *

Soon enough, Bobby and Jamie had gathered up some of the other boys and together they build snowballs as big as they could manage and smuggled them into Remy's dorm room. Jubilee helped by finding a nice big container they could put the completed snowball in. Remembering that he and Piotr hadn't been able to sneak into Remy's room that one night that they'd drawn on everyone's faces, Alex made sure to check the door before any snowball smuggling was attempted. Fortunately, they were able to get in.

"Probably just had something in front of the door that night," Jamie said once access was confirmed. "You know, I don't think you're supposed to do that."

"I don't think we're supposed to drawn on people's faces in the middle of the night either," Alex replied.

They smuggled up the first batch of snowballs and Bobby stayed behind in Remy's room to put them together while everyone else sneaked out for more (and hoped the dorm father wouldn't notice what was going on). The container, although wide, wasn't really as big as Bobby wanted—certainly not big enough to hold the size of snowball he had been imagining. Still, he made do with what he had and patted the snow into place, using some water to help make it stick.

While waiting between batches of snow to arrive (and hoping that Remy wouldn't come back soon), Bobby looked around the older boy's room. It was pretty neat and tidy. A little too neat and tidy in Bobby's opinion. He opened up the window and chuckled with fiendish delight as the cold wind blew stuff around.

After the second batch of snow had been packed into place (and Bobby deciding that he would go for a snowman instead of a giant snowball), Bobby noted the pile of books on Remy's bedside table. Some he recognised as books they had to read for school, while there were a couple of others of a science-fiction nature that Remy was obviously reading for fun. Bobby preferred comic books himself.

There was one book that didn't fit in with the others though. Bobby picked up "So You're Going To Be a Dad" with some curiosity. The note from Henri slipped out and Bobby read it with a frown.

At that moment the door opened and Alex and Jamie appeared with more snowballs.

"Quick," Jamie said urgently as Bobby slipped the note back inside the book and the book back on the table exactly where he found it. "Remy's on his way."

The book forgotten, Bobby, Alex, and Jamie hurriedly put the last of the snow in place, then scampered out. They got to the elevator and put on their best "I'm totally innocent" looks on the trip down. Their timing was good, for Remy was at the elevator door on the ground floor when it opened. Their expressions of innocence weren't all that great because they were too busy trying to hide big grins which Remy noticed immediately. Still, neither party said a thing as they switched places in the elevator.

Remy made his way to his bedroom, wondering what kind of prank they'd decided to pull this time. He opened his door and saw a little snowman sitting in a container in the middle of his floor.

He laughed.

* * *

**Sophomore Rollcall**

"So how did he react?" Kurt asked Bobby while sitting in their little corner of their homeroom on Monday.

"At dinner afterwards he came to our table and said 'nice one'," Bobby replied proudly.

"Cool," Kurt said with a nod. "Good thing he has a sense of humour, right?"

"I have a feeling we would have figured out if he didn't have a sense of humour by now," Jubilee said. "After all the pranks you guys pull..."

"True."

"Oh!" Bobby said, snapping his fingers. "I just remembered. While I was waiting in his room for more snow, I found something weird. There was this book on his nightstand called 'So You're Going To Be a Dad' and a note inside from someone named Henri telling him to read the first chapter." Bobby frowned, considering. "And a P.S. calling him a sly dog."

"Omigod!" Jubilee exclaimed, her eyes widening with excitement while she grabbed the edge of the desk. "Remy got someone pregnant?" She then grabbed at Kurt, oblivious to the looks in their direction. "Hey, do you think it's Rogue?"

"No way," Kurt said shaking his head as he pushed her off. "If it was we'd all know about it already. Coach Howlett probably would have killed him."

"Hmm, good point."

* * *

**1st Period**

"Hey guys, you will totally never guess what I heard," said Tabitha conspiratorially to the others in her class while they were supposed to be working. "Remy got someone pregnant."

"You're joking?" Lance replied. "Really?"

"That's what I heard," Tabitha said nodding.

* * *

**2nd Period**

Amanda slid a note across the table to Jean.

_Remy got someone pregnant!_

Jean glanced at the note, raised an eyebrow, and then wrote a response. She pushed it back once Mr Lehnsherr wasn't looking in their direction.

_How shocking. /sarcasm_

Amanda giggled.

* * *

**Gym Class, before the game**

"Oh hey, Rogue," Jubilee said, skipping up to her as they headed over to their part of the hall. "Do you know anything about this girl Remy's gotten pregnant?"

Marie stopped in her step, glanced briefly at Jubilee and then pointed to Logan. "We've got a game to play."

She made a mental note to talk to Remy first chance she got. She didn't know how it had gotten out but it had and she should warn him—if he hadn't found out already.

* * *

**Gym Class, boys locker room, after the game**

"Hey Remy," said John. "Which chick didja knock up?"

Remy threw a guarded look at John, aware of all the attention that was suddenly on them.

"Don't know what you're talking about," Remy replied, and stalked into his cubicle.

"Well, everyone's talking about it," John called after him.

Remy didn't reply and busied himself with showering and changing. He'd only told one person about Belle, Marie. He couldn't believe she would just blab to everyone like that but it must have been her. They hadn't spoken much since that stupid little fight over his flirting a week ago either. Typical vindictive woman! Just wait until he got his hands on her...

* * *

**Cafeteria**

Come lunch time, Remy was fuming. He'd heard everyone talk. He'd seen everyone looking in his direction and whispering behind his back. He felt angry, betrayed, and he stalked into the cafeteria with only one thing on his mind. As soon as his eyes fell on Marie, sitting in her usual chair, he became blind and deaf to all others in the room.

"You told!" he shouted at her as he stormed over.

Marie caught his eyes and regarded him in some surprise. Surely he didn't think that she told everyone about him getting Belle pregnant... did he?

"Excuse me?" she replied.

"No, you're not excused," Remy yelled, slamming his hand on the table beside her while standing over her. "You promised me you wouldn't tell anyone about Belle! Now everyone's talking about it!"

"Well, they didn't hear it from me," Marie replied firmly, holding his gaze with an angry gleam in her eyes at the accusation.

"Then how come they all know? Huh? Tell me that!" he demanded.

"You'd have to ask them. I have no idea," Marie said as she stood up. She really didn't appreciate him standing over her like that. "I keep my promises."

"Uh huh, yeah, sure," Remy replied sarcastically. "You never told them about me getting Belle pregnant. I suppose you never told them about the arranged marriage either?"

"No, I did not," Marie said, staring him down, "but you just did."

Marie pushed past him and stalked out, head held high. Only then did Remy notice how quiet the room was and how everyone was staring at him.

* * *

**Continue **onto **JayCee's RedGold's** _Gym Class Anti-Hero _– Chapter 8


	33. Pig Latin

**Chapter 33: ****Pig Latin**

Remy was sullen and silent for the rest of the day, pointedly ignoring anyone unless it directly related to school work. Not even John had any luck getting through to him. Marie was also angry, mostly because Remy's outburst meant he didn't trust her and she was rather offended that he—or anyone—would think she'd break the confidences of her friends like that. Some of the other students, Jubilee and Tabitha in particular, attempted to wrangle further details out of Marie but she stubbornly refused to say a word. She was going to be the better person and keep her promise.

Once he had a chance to calm down in the privacy of his own room, Remy realised his mistake. His revelation came the moment he saw the book Henri gave him on his bedside table and remembered the prank that had been pulled on him over the weekend. He tried calling Marie to apologise but she wouldn't take his call.

It was unfortunate for the X-Men that Marie had decided to hold a grudge.

"Hey guys," Bobby said, holding out his phone over breakfast at the cafeteria. "I don't suppose any of you know how to read Japanese?"

"Not a clue," Jean replied. "Why?"

"My phone is in Japanese for some reason," Bobby replied, then frowned. "Well, I think it's Japanese. I guess it could be Chinese or any of those other languages that have that kind of lettering."

"Let me see," Kitty said, holding out her hand.

"You speak?" Bobby asked hopefully, handing the phone over.

"Nope. I just wanna see," Kitty said.

She took the phone, fiddled around with the settings for a bit, nodded and then handed it back. "Yeah, you're screwed."

"Thanks a lot," Bobby replied sarcastically.

"Hang on. I think we have the same kind of phone," Scott said as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. "I'll see how to change it on mine and... crap."

"What?" asked Jean.

"It's in Japanese."

There was some snickering following this. The joke didn't seem nearly so funny when they discovered their own phones had been switched to Japanese. In fact, come gym class, they realise that the only two people out of the eleven of them whose phone language hadn't been altered were Marie and Kurt.

"What is all the fuss about?" Logan demanded when he saw them upset and deep in conversation when they were supposed to be getting ready for their next match against the Brotherhood.

The group looked at each other, then Scott stood forward.

"We think we've been the victim of another Brotherhood prank, only we have no idea when they had the chance to do it," Scott said, "and we don't know how to fix it. The language on all our phones has been changed to Japanese and we can't change it back to English."

Logan gave them all a long look. "What are you doing with your phones in school?"

"Uhh..."

"Oh, they aren't here," Jean said quickly. "They're in our rooms. We discovered it this morning and they were perfectly okay last night. Which is why we're not sure how they did it, they'd have to sneak into all our bedrooms overnight."

Logan grunted. He was pretty sure the kids had their phones with them but he wouldn't push it.

"Alright, see me after school and I'll switch the language back for you," he said. "You're in luck, I speak Japanese. Now, stop your fretting, we've dodgeball to play."

A sea of relieved faces looked back at him and they all quickly agreed. They soon gathered on the court and Marie eyed Remy. There was no doubt in her mind that he bore sole responsibility but she was unwilling to mention the night he'd sneaked into Wanda's bedroom to get some things for her. She couldn't believe how childish and bratty he was being.

* * *

Remy had hoped he'd finally be able to talk to Marie at lunch. He'd missed her at breakfast and during rollcall she had sat on the other side of the room. He was therefore rather disappointed when he made his way over to their usual table and saw her sitting with Kurt at his. He sat down forlornly with John and Wanda.

"What's Marie doing over there?" he asked.

"Idiot," Wanda said, glaring at him. "What do you think she's doing? She's getting away from you. I can't believe you blamed her. Jerk."

"It was stupid, I know. You know what else I know?" Remy snapped back at her. "I can't apologise if she keeps avoiding me, so shut it."

Wanda eyed him suspiciously. "Apologise?"

"Yes."

"Just like that?"

"Yes."

"Heh," John said with a smirk. "He's practising for married life."

"Like you would know anything about that," Remy was in no mood to deal with his friend's comedic nature, "you can't even get past first base."

That wiped the smirk from his face. "Ouch."

"Hmph," Wanda said with a long look at Remy, not dignifying his comment. "If you really want to apologise then I'll talk to her and see if I can get her to listen. But she's pretty pissed off, so I wouldn't get my hopes up she'll talk to you any time soon."

"Thanks," Remy replied quietly and busied himself with his food.

An odd silence followed and John scooted closer to Wanda and put his arm around her shoulder giving Remy a glare. Wanda, for her part, took a sip of her drink before clearing her throat.

"So, can I ask you about this fiancée of yours? Or are you going to impugn my honour too?" she asked Remy.

Remy sighed. He left his fork clatter onto his plate and buried his face in his hands.

"No one's going to let this go, are they?" he asked, his voice slightly muffled by his hands.

"I wouldn't count on it," Wanda replied coolly.

Remy growled and lifted his head.

"Fine," he said tersely, "but I'm telling you, and only you. If you decide to talk about it to anyone else that's your business but I'm only discussing it with you two and Rogue. Okay?"

"Okay," Wanda agreed.

Remy took a breath. "I've been arranged to get married since I was about ten. Her name's Bella Donna."

"Man that sucks," said John. "Is she at least hot?"

"John," Wanda said with a frown at him.

"What?" John asked, removing his arm and going back to his breakfast.

"It's okay, Wanda," Remy assured her before turning to John. "Yeah she's hot. And sexy. And I do actually like her. That was part of the reason why were we engaged. It's the whole feuding families cliché and when our parents found out Belle and I were friends, they figured an arranged marriage was the way to end the feuding."

"Eww," said John, pulling a face. "I hate family feuding clichés. They're so...cliché."

"So I'm guessing since she's pregnant—she is the one who's pregnant, right?—that you two still get along?" Wanda asked.

Remy nodded. "Yeah, we get along just fine. We're both pissed with our folks for not giving us a choice in the whole marriage thing, but yeah. We're still good friends."

"Friends, friends with benefits maybe," Wanda said, studying Remy with interest. "But you don't actually feel _that way_ about her, do you? It's Marie you're in love with."

Remy's face went stony. "I'm done talking now."

"Yeah, don't blame ya, mate," said John, nodding sagely. "It sounds like a bloody soap."

* * *

Marie may have been able to avoid Remy at mealtimes but she couldn't avoid him in home economics, especially since they had to pair up and there was no switching partners. Regardless, she persisted on giving him the silent treatment turning their practical session (which should have been a nice change from all the theory) into a drudgery. Remy really didn't want to apologise to her in front of everyone—he hadn't even wanted to admit that's what he intended to Wanda and John.

"C'mon, Rogue," he said in a hushed tone, not wanting to attract the attention of the others in the room. "Talk to me, please."

Marie ignored him and continued mixing the ingredients in the large plastic bowl she had pressed between her torso and arm.

"Look," he said, wishing they could have this conversation in private. "I'm sorry about yesterday, okay? I know it wasn't your fault everyone found out. I figured out that—"

"Wait a second," Marie said, and Remy might have been relieved she was finally speaking, except for her tone. "Let me get this straight. You're apologising for blaming me because it was someone else's fault, but you're not apologising for blaming me?"

"Huh?" They were the same thing, weren't they?

"You know," Marie said, glaring at him and poking him with the clean end of the wooden spoon in her hand, "I really don't appreciate the fact that when your deep dark secret came out, you automatically assumed I'd gone and blabbed."

"You were the only one I told," Remy replied tersely, keeping his voice low and wishing that Marie would do the same. "What else was I supposed to think?"

"You were supposed to do what you were doing when you told me in the first place and damn well trust me," Marie snapped at him. "Not a word, not a word had I said. I'd even planned to give you the heads up when I heard the rumour going around myself. But you didn't even give us a chance to discuss it before you blamed me in front of everyone! You know, I might have been the only one you told but I wasn't the only one who knew!"

"Uhh, chère," Remy said awkwardly, trying not to look at the class, who had all turned to watch the scene play out.

"What? Am I making a scene?" Marie demanded, dumping the mixing bowl and spoon on the bench. "Am I providing the rumour mill with more scandalous gossip to spread around? Well, that's just too damn bad. I kept your secrets, Remy LeBeau, and this is the thanks I get?"

"Ahem," Ororo said, taking that moment to cut in. "While I think it is good that you two have opened up a dialogue and are trying to sort out the...recent upheaval in your relationship, this is neither the time or the place. Until then, I am certain you are both quite capable of behaving civilly towards each other."

"Yes, Ms Monroe," Remy and Marie said together.

"Good," Ororo then turned her attention to the other four students, "I believe you have cooking to do."

Quickly, all four heads turned back to what they were supposed to be doing. Tight-lipped, Marie picked up the mixing bowl and spoon again.

"Rogue—" Remy started to say.

"Pass me the water, please," Marie replied, her voice clipped.

He sighed and reached for the measuring cup the water was in. Maybe he should just not bother trying to make amends. His family wouldn't exactly approve of them staying friends after he and Bella Donna were married. Probably make it easier to get over her too, if they weren't speaking anymore. Yeah, he should just walk away.

* * *

"I can't believe I'm saying this," said Lance as he and the other boys changed for gym class that Wednesday, "but I'm actually looking forward to this stupid run for once."

"Why?" asked Todd. "We've been running all week."

"Yeah, but at least this time the X-Men have to run too," Lance replied.

Three matches of dodgeball so far and the X-Men had thoroughly beaten the Brotherhood each time. Victor was furious and made his students run laps after each game as there had been enough time left for them. The Brotherhood was not at all happy but they couldn't seem to get much in the way of success no matter how hard they tried. There was lots of complaining about the X-Men having all the good athletes.

"Yeah, well," said Pietro. "They may be good at dodgeball, but they've never beaten me at the one mile run and they never will. No one will."

Halfway through the mile run, Pietro learned a new definition of the phrase "pride comes before a fall", literally.

"You okay?" Remy asked as he approached, rather surprised to actually catch up with Pietro.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Pietro replied through clenched teeth as he rubbed his ankle, trying to ignore the pain shooting through it. "You go on ahead. You're the only other fast runner in the Brotherhood."

"It's just a—"

"Go!"

"Okay, okay, I'm going," Remy said and reluctantly took off again.

Not far behind him were Jean and Marie. Both girls spotted him and asked if he was okay and if he needed a hand. He declined in a fairly rude manner and the girls took off again, feeling somewhat annoyed. After they left his sight, Pietro regretted his decision, mostly because they were both X-Men and if he had accepted their offer he could have slowed them down and ensured Remy's victory.

As the rest of the class went by, some offering to help (and being rejected), Pietro managed to get to his feet, but barely. He couldn't put any weight on his left foot at all, and when Lorna came by she found him leaning on a nearby tree.

"Pietro?" she said, slowly down with concern written all over her. "Are you okay?"

Pietro gritted his teeth. "I'm fine. Go on ahead."

Lorna stopped completely and studied him. She shook her head and walked over.

"You don't look fine to me," she informed him. "Lemme help."

"I don't need help," Pietro snapped at her. "I can get to the end just fine on my own."

Lorna watched, completely unimpressed, as Pietro proceeded to hop to the next tree.

"Uh huh, yeah sure," she said cynically. "And Zala is really the all powerful High Priestess of the Sun People."

Pietro rolled his eyes and pointedly ignored her as he eyed the distance to the next tree. Lorna followed and watched with arms folded as her older half brother hopped from tree to tree.

"So," she said with a note of smugness in her voice when they ran out of trees. "Whatcha gonna do now?"

Pietro didn't reply and focused his eyes on the dorm block. Lorna sighed loudly as Pietro made a concerted effort to get there on his own. She was also there to catch him when he lost his balance nowhere near his goal.

"Let go of me," he snapped at her. "I don't need your help."

"Yeah, well, I'm just going to be that annoying little sister you hate so much and insist on it," Lorna retorted. "You know, like all those times I made you and Wanda play barbies with me."

"If you ever, _ever_ tell anyone about that—"

"Just let me help you, Pietro!"

Pietro grumbled, but finally agreed. Progress was slow, Lorna hated trying to support Pietro's weight but soon the finish line was in sight. As they neared the end, they could see Logan and Victor arguing, then heard someone call out "here they come!" Pietro was embarrassed about being seen with his little sister helping him and were it in his power he would have pulled away from Lorna and tried to walk the rest of the way on his own. Lorna's grip on him was too tight for him to even attempt it.

"About time," Victor said as Pietro and Lorna finally stepped over the line, he narrowed his eyes at Pietro's ankle. "Lemme see that."

Remy and John swooped in to help Lorna lower Pietro to the ground (Lorna was relieved to have Pietro's weight taken from her). Victor knelt down and inspected the ankle, then told everyone to hit the showers. Pietro had the dubious privilege of being escorted to sick bay by Victor.

* * *

"How's the ankle?" Remy asked Pietro later over lunch.

Pietro shrugged. "It's fine."

"Uh huh," Remy replied, smirking. "So, I bet Creed's pissed about you not being able to compete in dodgeball tomorrow."

"Yeah, but on the bright side, I won't have to run laps with the rest of you," Pietro answered, smirking back.

"Ugh," Wanda said, pulling a face. "I just don't want to deal with any more dodgeballs or laps. I'm so glad we've only got two more classes to endure."

"Nah, we're going to win the next two," Tabitha said confidently. "That's what happened after Remy got concussed last year, you won the match the next day."

"Hmm, two injuries during dodgeball season two years in a row," Wanda mused. "I wonder the odds of that."

"Yeah, but the X-Men are on fire this year," said John glumly. "I don't know how they keep slaughtering us."

"They've got this thing, it's called strategy," said Remy. "You may have heard of it."

"What strategy?" asked Pietro. "It's freaking dodgeball! You throw the ball and hope your opponent doesn't dodge or catch it."

"Right," said Wanda. "And they have all their best dodgers at the front and their best catchers at the back."

"You noticed that too, huh?" Remy asked her.

"Come on, they have the same people in the same places every single game," Wanda replied scornfully. "They were doing it on purpose for a reason."

"Why didn't you say anything sooner?" Lance demanded. "We could have been doing that!"

"That's not the kind of thing you notice after just one class, stupid," Wanda said, giving him a look as she prepared her next bite of lunch.

"Heh," Remy said with a smirk. "Once is coincidence. Twice is happenstance. Thrice is an enemy attack."

"Happenstance? No one says that anymore," Pietro said scornfully.

"Thrice," John said with an amused smile. "I like that word: thrice. Just rolls off the tongue."

"So, are we going to do that?" asked Lance. "Put the best dodgers in the front and the best catchers in the back?"

"That won't really work for us," Remy replied. "Most of our best dodgers are also our best catchers. The rest of you just aren't very good at sports."

"Ha, that's what we should do," John said gleefully. "Put our best players at the back and put the cannon fodder in the front."

Remy smirked at him. "You realise you'll be cannon fodder."

"Good, I hate dodgeball," John replied cheerfully. "The sooner I'm out, the happier I am."

* * *

**Continue** onto Chellerbelle's _Gym Class Heroes_ – Chapter 34


	34. Peace SignIndex Down

**Chapter 34: ****Peace Sign/Index Down**

Remy faced off against Marie and Scott on the court. It was their final game of dodgeball, and each of the three remaining students had one of the three balls in hand. The Brotherhood had done better in dodgeball the day before, lasting long enough to placate Victor, or at least not leave enough time left in the class for him to make them run laps. It was looking good for not having to run laps again today too.

Marie and Scott threw their balls at him at once. One ball was slightly to the left, the other slightly to the right. If he went to either side he'd miss one and be hit by the other, if he stayed where he was he'd be hit by both. Remy leapt into the air and made about every male in the room wince when he did the splits, something which not even all the girls could manage. As Marie and Scott's balls whooshed by underneath him, he threw his ball in Scott's direction. Remy landed, then did a backflip and grabbed the other balls.

"Hey," Victor said crossly. "We said no flipping. That's detention."

Victor had been a little free with the detentions this week in Remy's opinion.

"The balls were past me," Remy pointed out as he threw said balls at Marie and Scott. All missed.

"Not the point."

Feeling irritable, when Marie and Scott threw the balls back, Remy deliberately flipped over Marie's and caught Scott's. As Scott was sent out, Remy called Pietro back in.

"That's another detention," Victor said, scowling at Remy.

"Bite me," Remy replied and stuck up his middle finger at him.

There was a collective gasp across the room and Victor's face blackened with rage. Had any of the students been inclined to be rude to one of their teachers, Victor was the last person they would even consider.

"A week's detention for insubordination," Victor growled.

"Oooh, scary," Remy mocked him as he and Pietro grabbed the balls. "I'm getting married a week after my birthday. Top that."

"He can't," Logan said, knowing he shouldn't get involved but unable to resist the urge. "Creed's never had the balls to get married, or even try to be a good father to his kid. Or is it kids, plural? You walked out on Raven, I wonder how many other women you walked out on?"

"So, runt," Victor replied with a smirk. "Just how much of your salary goes to supporting your ex-wife?"

"Less than it costs you in smuggling beer from Canada."

"You still owe me a six pack."

"I do not."

"We both know you stole it.

"No, I know I didn't steal it," Logan replied calmly as Marie gave Remy a pointed look. "You suspect I did."

Remy shrugged and grinned back at Marie as if to say "I told you so" and then threw the two balls he had at her. Pietro threw his as well. Marie luckily managed to dodge all three. She picked up one and eyed the two Brothers, trying to figure out the best plan of attack. She threw the three balls in rapid succession at Pietro, only for one of them to end up getting caught and on that the Brotherhood got their first and only dodgeball victory of the year.

* * *

Ororo frowned as she stepped into the gymnasium and saw Remy running laps around the room while holding a medicine ball above his head. She strode over to Victor, who was watching with a smirk on his face.

"Is that really necessary?" she asked him.

"Little punk disobeyed the rules and flipped me the bird," Victor replied stonily, his arms folded across his chest. "He's lucky I'm not making him carry two."

"You know, most people make the students write out lines or sit in silence for detention."

"Then most people are wimps," Victor retorted. "Whaddya want, Ororo? He's still got another five laps to do."

Ororo narrowed her eyes. "I came to speak to him. And has he been doing all those laps with the medicine ball?"

"That some kind of trick question?"

"Then I believe he has done quite enough laps for today," Ororo said firmly.

"And I believe he hasn't," Victor replied as Remy continued around the hall.

"This isn't the military, Victor."

"Back off, Ororo. You do detention your own wimpy way and I'll do mine in a manner that'll actually teach these punks a lesson," Victor replied with a little growl in her direction. "'Sides, he's quick enough. He'll be done soon. Why don't you be a nice little lady and be ready with a bottle of water and a towel when he's done? He's gonna need it."

Ororo ignored his jibe and attempted to talk Victor into releasing Remy early but he wouldn't budge until those last five laps were done. As soon as he told Remy he could stop, Victor took off, asking Ororo to be a pet and lock up.

"Go shower," Ororo said to Remy. "I'll be waiting out here to talk to you when you're done."

Remy nodded. He didn't want to talk but he was way too tired after the laps to bother objecting. The medicine ball he'd been required to carry was fairly light as far as they went but having to do laps while holding it above his head for so long made it feel a lot heavier. His arms were greatly relieved to be free of that burden.

A few minutes later, Remy emerged from the locker room with his bag and damp hair. Ororo patted the space next to her on the bench and he reluctantly sat down next to her. Right now he just wanted to get back to his bedroom.

"I don't suppose you're here because we're going out flying tonight after all?" he asked dully.

"Not in this weather," Ororo replied with a slight smile. "I understand that there was an incident in gym today."

Remy shrugged. "What gave it away? Detention with Coach Creed?"

"And then there was your confrontations with Marie earlier in the week," Ororo said and studied Remy seriously. "Are you going to tell me what exactly is going on, or do I have to speculate?"

Remy sat in sullen silence with a frown on his face. He never wanted anyone to know what was going on at home and he rather regretted his outburst during gym today which only served to cement the truth in the minds of his peers. On the other hand, Ororo was privy to the one big secret he hadn't shared with Marie: he was a thief from a family of thieves.

"Poppa and Boudreaux decided to unite the guilds by marrying me and Belle off," he said irritably, "and now she's pregnant, due in June, and we're getting married in July. There's nothing else to say."

"And how do you feel about all this?"

"I feel like I don't want to talk about it," Remy snapped.

"And I feel like you should," Ororo replied firmly. "These are not small matters, Remy."

"You're telling me," he muttered.

"It is perfectly normal for you to feel anxious about these things," she went on. "It is a lot of pressure, and just like in all high pressure situations, you need to be able to release some steam or you are going to blow. I promise you, as always, anything you tell me is completely confidential."

Remy didn't reply, only stared off into space with a sullen frown on his face.

"And as always I cannot force you to tell me anything either," Ororo said gently, "but I may feel compelled to share a story of my youth..."

"Somehow I don't think you have any relatable stories this time, Ms Monroe," Remy reply dryly. "Or do you have a husband and child we don't know about?"

"I have an ex-husband and no children," Ororo replied. "Does that count?"

Remy looked at her with raised eyebrows. "I'm all ears."

"His name was T'Challa," Ororo said with a wistful look in her eye. "When T'Challa was about your age, he was abducted by a gang of white men whom I happened to come across by sheer luck. I helped T'Challa to escape."

"Go you," said Remy with a half-hearted fist pump. "The princess rescues the prince."

Ororo smiled faintly. If Remy had known T'Challa really was a prince, he'd never believe her story, no matter how true it was.

"I went back home with him—no short journey, I assure you. It turned out that his family was...quite wealthy and powerful, they weren't all that fond of the idea of a lowly, female, orphaned pickpocket being responsible for the rescue of their son. They told everyone that it was T'Challa who rescued me."

"Ahh, historical revisionism. Real life's retcon."

"They also put pressure on him to chose a bride."

That gave Remy pause and he met Ororo's eyes with interest. "You."

"Me," she confirmed. "Although his family were not at all happy with his choice."

"So, how'd he end up your ex?"

"There was a war between tribes. He interpreted my efforts to reconcile both sides as siding with the enemy," Ororo said and Remy saw sadness in her eyes. "It was a very fast divorce and I am grateful that we had no children yet as I am quite certain I never would have seen them again."

Remy nodded thoughtfully.

"We were happy for a time," Ororo went on. "But it was a marriage of convenience and although we got along, we did not love each other."

"How come you never had kids?"

"We were not ready. His family was starting to put the pressure on us though."

"Yeah, know that feeling," Remy muttered bitterly.

"You're not ready either," Ororo stated.

"Don't have a choice, do I?" Remy asked. "And don't go saying 'yes you did, you had the choice of sleeping with her', 'cause I've already heard all that a zillion times already, even before Belle got pregnant. We were careful."

"I believe you," Ororo replied firmly. "We have already discussed using protection before and I have always been impressed with how conscientious you have been about such things, especially for someone your age. Although with an arranged marriage..."

"Everyone would be pissed if I got someone other than Belle pregnant," Remy said, stating what Ororo had already figured out for herself. "Or if I ended up with an incurable disease or something. I had to be careful 'cause if the treaty fell through..."

"War between the guilds."

"Yeah. I hate not having a choice."

"You do have a choice."

"No I—"

"You have the choice to abide by your family's wishes, or to disobey them, and both sides have consequences," Ororo replied swiftly. "You also have the choice of what attitude you have."

"Yeah, heard that one a zillion times before too."

Ororo was silent for a moment. "You are not ready. Despite all the planning and preparation, what once felt far away is now closing in on you and you realise you are not as ready for it as you first believed."

Remy swallowed hard, hearing exactly how he felt come out of Ororo's lips.

"I wanted to see if we could call it off," he said. "I was going to ask Poppa if there was another way last Christmas but that was when I found out about Belle and the baby, so..." He shook his head. "I doubt it would have worked anyway."

"Well, I am very glad to hear you chose to take responsibility instead of pursuing your attempt to get out of the wedding," Ororo said.

"Some choice," Remy muttered.

"Nevertheless, it was a choice," Ororo replied firmly. "Life rarely gives us what we want when we want it, if we get what we want at all. What is important is how we choose to deal with the things life throws our way, no matter how inadequate and unprepared we feel for the task."

She leaned in towards him and added before he could respond: "And I have never once met an expectant parent who felt up to the task."

Remy snorted. "Maybe that's how I ended up on the street. M'birth parents weren't freaked out by the baby with the demon eyes: they just didn't think they'd be good parents."

"Maybe that is exactly what happened," Ororo replied, quite seriously.

And to his surprise, Remy found that the thought did actually make him feel just that teeniest bit better.

* * *

Logan and Marie bowed to each other, concluding their sparring session the following Saturday afternoon.

"Well done, Stripes," he said as they straightened up and dropped their hands.

"Thanks," Marie replied as she stepped off the mat.

"Say, I was thinking," Logan said after putting the blue mat away. "We've got self defence starting next week—"

"I thought that must be coming up soon," Marie said as she put her shoes back on, not really looking forward to the walk through the snow outside.

"Yeah, well, I was wondering if you'd like to be my teaching assistant," Logan asked her seriously as he sat down beside her to put his own shoes back on.

Marie paused and looked up at him. "Be your... Why?"

"For one thing, you're way past the skills of your teammates," he replied. "Everything I'll be teaching you already learned years ago. We've also got an uneven number of students, as you might have noticed."

"The thought had crossed my mind."

"Last year it meant that when we started sparring, there was always someone leftover. If I sparred with them, it meant that the rest of the class wasn't getting any attention, and if I didn't, they weren't getting any practise in until I mixed the partners up," Logan said. "I managed but..."

"This year would be a lot easier if I took on being your assistant?" Marie asked, smiling.

"A lot easier," Logan replied, smiling back. "And a second pair of eyes will be a big help too. Not to mention having someone I can do demos with who actually knows what they're doing."

Marie's smile broadened into a grin. "Well, I'd love to. Last year I spent most of the time wondering when all the tedium would end. The only person in the Brotherhood who could give me a decent challenge was Remy. Oh, well, and Creed, but I only really sparred with him the once."

Logan chuckled. "Yeah, I remember that."

"Hmm, this'll be weird," Marie went on thoughtfully. "Last year I practised with the Brotherhood and was in the tournament against the X-Men. This year it'll be the other way around. Oh good! I just realised, Creed won't be able to claim total victory this year, not since I'll probably win the girls' tournament again."

Logan shrugged. "As nice as it is to get one over Creed, as long as all you kids learn something, I'm happy."

Marie considered that as she finished tying up her laces.

"Well," she said finally. "I guess we'll have to make sure they learn something."

* * *

Logan stood in front of his team on Monday's gym class.

"Okay kids," he said. "For the next few weeks we'll be learning self defence in the form of mixed martial arts. We'll be starting off by learning the necessary movements, positions, and protocol. This will be followed up by some practice sparring sessions later on. The final week will be a tournament against the Brotherhood."

Logan stopped to appraise the mixed reaction from his students. The newer ones were excited and nervous, while the older ones who had been there the year before were a little more circumspect. The older boys in particular remembered getting their butts handed to them by Remy and weren't particularly looking forward to going up against him again.

"Remember," Logan went on firmly. "This is about being able to defend yourself and being able to escape from an assailant. We are not teaching you this because it's 'fun' and 'cool', nor do we want to hear about you using the basic skills you learn over the next few weeks to bully others. I will not hesitate to start handing out detentions as freely as Creed over there does if I see any of you disrespecting each other or the knowledge I will be teaching you. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes Coach Howlett," everyone replied in chorus.

"Good," Logan said with a nod. "As there's an uneven number of you, Stripes will be my assistant. She's been doing mixed martial arts since she was knee-high to a grasshopper, so she knows what she's doing. If she gives you instruction, then I expect you to show her the same respect you would show me."

Kitty glanced over at Marie with just a little twinge of jealousy. She had been keeping up with her classes with Logan on the weekends and would have loved to have been Logan's assistant. The sensible part of her recognised that Marie really was way more experienced than she was and it wasn't a case of favouritism going on here. Still, the thought that Logan might have picked herself to be his assistant had Marie stayed with the Brotherhood cheered her up considerably.

"Let's get started."

* * *

**Continue **onto** JayCee's RedGold's** _Gym Class Anti-Hero_ – Chapter 10


	35. Nowhere to Run

**Chapter 35: ****Nowhere to Run **

Lorna sighed wistfully while Wanda finished doing her hair and make up.

"I wish I could go," she said, rocking back and forth on the edge of Wanda's bed.

Wanda closed her eyeshadow case with a snap and looked through the ensuite door at her little sister.

"Are you still here?" she demanded tersely. "And Warren doesn't even know you, so why the hell would he invite you to his Valentines Day party?"

"Well, he knows you and Pietro, and you get to go," Lorna replied, ignoring Wanda's irritated tone. Wanda always sounded like that when she spoke to her.

"Pietro and I aren't exactly buddy-buddy with Warren," Wanda said, turning back to the mirror to inspect her reflection. "I'm surprised we were even on the invitation list."

"Still," Lorna said with a little sigh. "You're so lucky getting to go to a college party."

Wanda sighed and put her make up case away.

"I really doubt it'll be that kind of party, and if it is, then that part of it won't start until after those of us from Xavier's have left," Wanda said as she finally emerged from the bathroom with her ankh jewellery and dark make up. "Curfew still applies."

"Still," Lorna said, and she smiled up at her sister. "You look pretty."

"That's nice," Wanda replied drolly as she pulled on her jacket. "I wasn't going for pretty. I was going for dark and unapproachable."

"Oh. Well, you're dark and unapproachable then."

"No, I'm not," Wanda retorted, giving Lorna a pointed look. "If I was, you wouldn't still be here."

Lorna was silent while she tried to figure out what to say. She didn't know why Wanda was always so cranky towards her all the time. At least Pietro was nicer to her now. Not much, but a teensy weensy little bit nicer.

"I'm thinking of dyeing my hair," Lorna said while Wanda pulled on her black boots.

"That's nice for you."

"I wanna go blonde."

"Why am I not surprised?"

Lorna frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I don't get along with blondes," Wanda said. "They're stupid and annoying. Yes, I think blonde hair will suit you perfectly."

"Hey!" Lorna objected.

Before things could go any further, there was a knock at the door.

"Come," Wanda said.

"Hey," Jean said, poking her head in the door. "Ready to go?"

Wanda zipped up her second boot. "Yep. After you, Lorna."

Lorna sighed and pushed herself off the bed. "Have fun."

"I'm sure we will, thanks," Jean replied.

Wanda snorted as she followed Lorna out of her room and joined Jean, Kitty, and Alison in the hallway. She was just going for the yummy Italian Crostoli, so there had better be some.

"Okay," said Jean as she led the way down the hall to the elevator. "Rogue said she'd wait for us in the parking lot, so I guess we're all set."

"Yay," said Kitty. "This is gonna be so awesome."

* * *

In due course, three carloads of students from Xaviers, and one motorcycle, arrived at the Worthington Estate. It was somewhat crowded and a valet was there to greet them.

"Wow," Kitty said as they were escorted to the ballroom. "There are a lot more people here than I was imagining."

It was quite clear there was more to this Valentines Day party than a simple get together with friends. There were adults everywhere. Not just college-aged ones, but ones who were likely closer friends with Warren's parents than Warren himself.

Wanda looked around critically. This wasn't what she had been expecting either but the odds were pretty good that there would be lots of Crostoli and hopefully even refills as the night went on. She made a beeline for the food tables. Everyone else also slowly mingled in with the crowd, although many chose to stay with their closer friends.

"Hey guys, glad you could make it," Warren said to Jean and Scott, greeting them warmly as soon as he saw them.

"So are we," Jean replied and glanced around. "I have to admit, this isn't what I was expecting from your invitation."

Warren shrugged. "Mother decided to make some last minute adjustments."

"Ahh," Jean replied in understanding.

"Anyway, sorry I can't stay and chat right now but we'll catch up later...hopefully," Warren said ruefully. "Have fun you two."

"We shall," Scott replied with a nod.

As Warren wandered off to greet more guests, Jean took Scott's hand.

"Poor Warren. His own Valentines Day party and he and Candy are spending it on opposite sides of the room," she murmured into his ear.

"Yeah," Scott replied. "Kind of makes you wonder that the point of it all is."

In another corner of the party, Marie located Kurt. As soon as he saw her, Kurt gave her a hug.

"Hey," he said. "So you decided to come after all."

Marie shrugged. "Hey, why not? Besides, Wanda wanted to come, although she had ulterior motives."

Kurt chuckled, then snapped his fingers. "Oh, my father's here by the way. He got invited too."

"Ahh, thanks for the notice," Marie replied. "Mine didn't, so there's no worries there at least."

Some time into the party, Kitty located Piotr through one of the many large windows standing on the porch. She found her way out and joined him, rubbing her arms on the way.

"So this is where you ended up," she said. "Aren't you cold?"

Piotr jumped a little at her approach, then relaxed and shook his head.

"I've never really been all that bothered by the cold," he replied and after a moment's paused he took off his jacket and slid it over Kitty's shoulders.

"Aww, thank you," Kitty said, beaming up at him and feeling warmer already. "You're so sweet."

"You were cold, I am not," Piotr answered with a bashful shrug. "It made sense to me."

Kitty smiled and gave him a little nudge. "So whatcha doing out here anyway?"

"I thought I might get away from the crowding in there for awhile," Piotr said, and looked out on the view of the gardens. "Besides, it's beautiful out here."

"Yeah, it is."

And in that moment, Piotr knew what to do. He'd been trying to work up the nerve to ask Kitty out all year, but, aside from dancing at Homecoming, he hadn't acted at all. His efforts to be more assertive weren't working out so well. He kept telling himself he was waiting for the right moment, or that it was too soon after her break up with Lance (even though that was almost a year ago now). It occurred to him that if he was waiting for the right moment, then this was it. It would never be this perfect again.

"Kitty, I was wondering," he said, determined to see this through and not stammer or falter. "Would you go out with me?"

Kitty's face lit up.

"What like, on a date?" she asked coyly. "Or as, y'know, your girlfriend?"

"Both?" Piotr asked hopefully.

Kitty giggled and gave him a hug. "I'd love to. Both of them."

Piotr hugged her back, thrilled to pieces. He would have replied, but one of the staff appeared and informed them that they were required inside for an announcement.

Warren took a deep breath as their guests gathered, his hand firmly curled around Candy's. Their parents were close by but not on the makeshift stage with them.

"Thank you all for coming," Warren said when an appropriate lull in the conversation presented itself. "I hope you've all been enjoying yourself. Ahem, well, Candy and I have something really important we want to share with all of you. As of a couple of days ago—on the actual Valentines Day—Candy and I became engaged."

Remy watched as the room erupted in excitement and congratulations. He shook his head and casually made his way towards the door. There were definite advantages of coming alone on his motorcycle, one was not having to concern himself with other people when he wanted to leave.

While Remy waited impatiently for the valet to come back with his motorcycle, Warren appeared in the anteroom behind him. Remy raised an eyebrow.

"Don't you have well wishing to receive?" Remy asked drolly.

"Yeah, but then I saw you trying to leave without saying goodbye," Warren replied. "I hear you're due for some well wishing yourself."

Remy folded him arms and looked away. "A little bird told you, huh?"

"A tall bird," Warren said, "with fiery red hair, erm feathers."

Remy snorted.

"Look, ahh," Warren went on, eyeing him speculatively. "If you need a job or something—"

"I'm fine," Remy replied tersely. "Family business. You know the drill."

"Right, but umm, I mean...if you _need_ a job."

Remy paused and looked back at Warren. Warren looked back at him. Remy smirked.

"Merci for the offer, mon ami, but I ain't leaving my pregnant fiancée at the alter," he said.

"Just thought I'd make the offer. The same bird mentioned she didn't think you were happy about it," Warren said.

"I'm not, but there are some things you just can't change," Remy replied and regarded Warren seriously for a moment. He nodded towards the way back inside. "You sure about getting married? I mean, you're not much older than me. How do you know Candy's even 'the one' if such a thing exists?"

Warren shrugged. "I just do."

"Yeah but how do you know?" Remy persisted. "I know you're all 'high school sweethearts' and stuff, but Xavier's is a small school and all. How do you know you're not going to meet someone else in college or something?"

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I want to wait till after we're done with college before tying the knot but I think Candy has other plans for us. I'm going to do whatever she wants," Warren replied with a shrug, "but it's okay 'cause I love Candy... and not even...not even a supermodel with a sexy English accent could lure me away from her."

"A sexy English accent?"

"What? You think women are the only ones who find foreign accents attractive?" Warren asked as the valet returned.

Remy grinned and gave a half shrug.

"Anyway," Warren went on as the valet handed Remy his keys. "I hope things work out for you."

Remy gave a nod as he backed towards the door. "Same to you."

Warren and Remy departed and the party carried on. The time for the rest of the students to depart lest they be late for curfew arrived, and Warren, Candy, Kurt, and their former classmates came out to bid them farewell. They piled back into the three cars and Jean, Scott, and Sam drove everyone back to the school.

In the student parking lot, after everyone piled out and made their way to the dorms, John sidled up to Wanda. He held out a little parcel wrapped in serviettes.

"What?" she asked curiously.

"Open it," John replied smugly.

Wanda gave him a curious gaze but took the parcel, pulling away some of the white paper. A grin appeared on her face when she saw two of the Crostoli inside.

"You are the best boyfriend ever," she informed him.

John chuckled. "Happy Valentines Day."

* * *

That evening, after curfew but before lights out, Remy, John, Pietro, Lance, Todd, Evan, and Ray went about their pre-bedtime routine. For some this meant showering before changing into their night clothes. For most, this also included brushing their teeth.

Normally something as mundane as brushing teeth wouldn't be worth commenting on. On this particular occasion, however, it led to discussion over the breakfast table the next morning.

"So, anyone else end up brushing their teeth with a salty toothbrush?" John asked conversationally.

"Yep," said Lance.

"Is that was that was?" asked Evan. "I wondered why my toothpaste tasted funny."

"Yeah, me too," said Pietro. "Man, I thought they'd given up."

"And me," said Ray with a nod.

"Not me," Todd said smugly. "I don't brush my teeth."

"No wonder your breath stinks," Remy said, giving Todd a pointed look.

"Does not," Todd objected.

"Yes it really does," Remy insisted. "You're not going to be kissing any girls with breath like yours."

"It does not," Todd said, then went about holding his hand up to his mouth and nose in an effort to try and smell his own breath.

"Look," Remy said, leaning forward on the table and looking at the other Brothers seriously. "I have an idea for a return prank, but it's going to be a group effort. We may have to get the girls in on this one, 'cause it'll probably take us a few hours to do all seven rooms, so we'll need to keep them good and occupied."

"Oh yeah?" asked John gleefully. "What did you have in mind?"

Remy told them in a hushed voice so not to be overheard by another table. There was some giggles and a few "I don't get it", along with John's diabolical evil cackling of delight.

"The prep for the prank itself won't take very long but we might want to put some thought into organising a good distraction—or distractions," Remy went on. "And waiting a couple of weeks before striking will help to lure them into a false sense of security."

"This is gonna rock," John said.

* * *

That week in gym class, Logan and Victor switched to sparring. Logan opened with a demonstration with Marie, using only the very basic moves that they'd been teaching the rest of the X-Men before. They went through the dos and don'ts, Logan making it abundantly clear that they weren't actually supposed to try and hurt each other and above all they had to respect their opponent. Logan personally hated that the kids were rushed into sparring like this but unfortunately he couldn't change anything unless Victor agreed, and Victor didn't.

For sparring practice they had five blue mats out on their half of the gymnasium, one for each pair of sparring partners. Logan and Marie would observe and periodically stop an individual match to correct something or otherwise offer additional instruction. Logan was pleased to see Marie took her job as his assistant very seriously and she treated her teammates with every bit of courtesy and respect he expected of her. She didn't make fun of anyone or act condescending about their lower skill level in any way. Logan couldn't have been prouder.

It was during one of the sparring sessions that Remy was paired up with John. John was doing his usual thing of clowning around but in such a way Victor wouldn't really notice if he had a casual look.

"You know," Remy murmured. "If you put in even half as much effort into learning this stuff as you do trying to hide that you're not learning this stuff, you might actually be pretty good."

"Yeah, well, we're not all into beating the crap out of other people," John replied while mimicking some of the moves that Victor had taught them earlier.

"Technically we're doing self defence, which is the art of avoiding having the crap beat out of you."

"Semantics."

"Uh huh." Remy eyed his friend studiously. "And what are you going to do if someone does come after you for real one day?"

John glared at him. "Someone has."

Abruptly Remy remembered what he, Marie, and Wanda had learned about John's birth father the year before. He felt bad for forgetting but at the same time he felt like John had just proved his point.

"Right, forgot about that," Remy said, then shrugged. "What are you gonna do if he shows up again?"

John paled at the very idea. "Don't even go there."

"What? You're not going to just let him, are you?" Remy asked, walking right up to him.

John stepped back, all pretence of sparring gone. "Don't."

"You wanna run? Then you run. But you've gotta escape first."

John always did hate sparring with Remy but this was probably the worst session he'd ever had with him. Remy was quite capable of coming across as menacing at the drop of a hat and while the logical part of John knew that Remy really wasn't interested in hurting him, the rest of him was in a panic.

Remy strode across the mat and grabbed John's wrist. Alarms bells went off in John's mind and he pulled back, putting all his weight into it, trying desperately to free himself. Remy gave him a look as if to say "really?"

"Letgoletgoletgo," John said, almost falling on the floor in his efforts to get away.

"I will, just as soon as you make me," Remy replied, eyeing his friend like he'd suddenly gone insane. "Would you stand up so I can show you how to get out of this?"

"What's going on here?" Victor demanded.

As Victor stalked over, John shrank even further back, finding him to be even more menacing than Remy. Remy, realising Victor wouldn't know or care, let go of John's wrist, sending him sprawling back on the mat (but it was a short fall since he was already mostly there).

"We were roleplaying," Remy said, determined to take the attention off his friend. "I'm into that sort of thing. Me and the fiancée do it all the time. Why, the night our baby was conceived we were pretending I was a thief who had broken into an assassins house to rob the place and got caught. It was fairly hot. And come to think of it, I think that the sai through the condom might have been the cause of the problem..."

"I don't need to know the details of your sex life, Cajun," Victor growled at him.

"Need or want?" Remy asked cheekily.

"Get back to practising before I give you both detention," Victor replied, glaring at him.

Remy saluted. "Sir, yes sir."

"Good attitude, keep it up."

* * *

Wanda forcefully slammed Remy up against the wall of one of the school hallways between classes later on. The attack took him by some surprise, coming from such an unlikely quarter.

"Désolé, ma chère, but I'm taken," he said. "And so are you for that matter. Though I guess I can't blame you for—"

"What the hell did you do to John?" Wanda demanded, thumping him in the chest with her fist, her eyes blazing with rage.

"You'll have to be more specific..."

"In gym!" she snapped at him. "He's been freaked out all day and it's all your fault."

"I was just trying to help him, I promise," Remy replied calmly. "You'd think for all the years he's been here, he'd have picked up a few more defensive and evasion techniques, but apparently not. I was trying to teach him some when he flipped out."

"Yeah well—" Wanda cut herself off as Jean and Kitty came wandering down the hall, chatting about a double date they had planned that weekend. Jean and Kitty gave them an odd look but didn't stop to question and continued on their way.

"You really freaked him out," Wanda said, a little quieter and then noticed that Remy was looking towards Jean and Kitty as they walked around the corner. "Hey, I'm talking to you."

Remy rubbed his chest after Wanda poked him hard on the breast bone.

"I didn't know he'd react like that," Remy replied absently. "I promise I'll apologise."

"Apologise tomorrow. He needs a chance to calm down, you jackass," Wanda snapped at him.

"Will do. Can you do me a favour?" Remy asked and went on before Wanda could respond. "Tell him, I've figured out the little distraction we need for the prank."

* * *

**Continue **onto** JayCee's RedGold's** _Gym Class Anti-Heroes_ – Chapter 11


	36. Gotta Get Out of Here

**Chapter 36: ****Gotta Get Out of Here**

"Okay kids," Logan said while standing on the only blue mat he'd pulled out that day. "Next week we have the tournament against the Brotherhood and it's occurred to me that one of you hasn't had enough sparring practise."

He gave the group a long look, then grinned.

"So to make up for that lack, and hopefully give the rest of you a chance to sharpen your skills," he said, "all of you will be sparring against Rogue."

Marie grinned as she stood up on the mat beside her father. That was the first time he'd called her Rogue. There were some groans from her teammates but a little hopeful excitement too.

"These will be three minute matches, just like the tournament," Logan went on, then nodded towards Scott. "Scott, you're up."

Scott took a deep breath and stepped onto the mat opposite Marie as Logan stepped off. The two bowed to each other on Logan's signal and the match began.

Marie had quite the workout having match after match. Although it was well within her abilities to end the matches quickly, she preferred to let them take the full three minutes, using them to help further the education of her peers.

Her final match was with Kitty. Both girls were somewhat apprehensive as they bowed to each other. The year before Marie had been jealous and angry because of the time Kitty was spending with Logan, and she had taken out her feelings on the other girl. Kitty well remembered doing poorly against her and didn't know if she dared to hope that her year's additional experience, and the fact that Marie was tired from the other nine matches she'd just fought, might actually give her a chance against Marie this time.

Thirty seconds into the fight, Kitty realised that this wasn't about winning. Marie wasn't even trying to kick her butt like she so clearly had intended to in their two matches last year. There was no sense that Marie was out to get her and every sense that Marie genuinely wanted to help Kitty improve.

Logan called for time and the girl bowed to each other. As they lifted their heads, Marie grinned at her.

"There you go," she said. "You didn't even end up on the floor this time."

* * *

Remy stood in the middle of Scott's bedroom with a ball of string in his hand, a second ball sitting on the desk, a bag of even more balls of string at his feet. In front of him stood Lance, Pietro, Todd, Ray, Evan, and John.

"Okay, today we're going to learn how to string up a room," Remy said. "It's really very simple, but time consuming."

He walked to the bed and tied the string to one of the knobs on the headboard.

"First, you tie the string to something in the room and then..." Remy got up and headed over to the other side of the room to the desk, "you tie the string to something else on the other side." He began wrapping the string around the desk leg. "And so on and so forth until the room is like a huge spider's web and you can't walk two steps into the room without touching string."

He stopped tying the string and looked at his teammates, some of whom looked dubious about the whole plan.

"Trust me, it'll be worth it," he said. "Tie string to everything you can possibly tie it to. Oh, but use some discretion okay? Don't tie the string to anything breakable. Better yet, put anything breakable in a drawer or something. It's going to be pretty obvious we were behind it but we won't get into any trouble if no damage is done. Now, because Wanda decided to string up the girl's rooms at the last minute, there are only two balls of string per room. Hopefully that will be enough. We also have to do Scott and Pete's room first because they'll probably be done with their double date before the little movie marathon party Tabitha and Lorna so kindly agreed to throw for us is over. Let's go."

The boys grabbed the balls of string from the bag and headed off. John paused after grabbing his string and eyed Remy warily. Remy gave John a nod and continued stringing up Scott's room.

"Want a hand?" John asked after a moment.

Remy glanced over, a little surprised. He had apologised as he'd promised Wanda he would but John had been somewhat unreceptive and even tried avoiding him as much as he could.

"Sure," Remy replied. "The sooner we get Scott's room done, the less chance of him walking in on us while we're doing it."

"Yeah, that's what I figured," John said with a nod.

They spent their time string up Scott's room in silence, until about halfway through the job when they bumped into each other. The abundance of string meant that John tripped. Although Remy was able to catch John before he hit the floor, he saw his friend wince and pull away as soon as he could. The reaction made Remy frown but he wasn't really sure what to do about it. He hadn't freaked John out _that_ much, had he?

John was well aware of his reaction and he hated himself for it. He knew logically he was okay, that Remy wouldn't actually try to hurt him, but he'd also been having some nasty dreams of late that started out as memories of his father beating him, only for his father to turn into Remy. And Remy had a pair of eyes that were really scary in nightmares. It was difficult setting that aside.

Still, as they continued stringing up Scott's room, John couldn't help but remember something Remy had said when he apologised the other day:

_"Okay, well, that's great. I'm glad Wade was able to take care of your father for you, but what happens next time? What if Wade isn't there? If you spend your life expecting other people to save your ass all the time, you're always going to be a victim."_

He practically yelled at Remy for that, proclaiming he couldn't understand, he had no idea what he'd gone through. Nevertheless, the words stuck with him. He hated the feelings of panic and helplessness that had come over him that day, even though he had been perfectly safe and never in any danger. Maybe Remy was right. Maybe he should try to learn more about this stuff. John really didn't want to get into any physical fights with anyone, but it would be good if he knew he could get out of them at a moment's notice.

"Hey Remy," John said while keeping his eyes trained on the new knot he was trying around the curtain rod. "I was wondering, umm, I think I've changed my mind about learning, uhh... get out of jail free moves."

Remy chuckled lightly at John's description. "No problem. We can start today if you—"

"No!"

Remy raised his eyebrows and looked at John. John cleared his throat, finished tying the knot, and started looking around for a new place to tie more string.

"Not today. We have the tournament next week," John said, trying to hide his anxiety. "I have a good thing going: I don't learn anything and Creed eliminates me after one round."

Remy laughed.

"Okay, after the tournament," he agreed.

* * *

Some time later, Marie arrived at the girls' dorm and found Wanda in Kitty's bedroom tying string to everything.

"Just getting started?" Marie asked.

Wanda yelped in surprised and glared at Marie who apologised with a giggle for startling her.

"No," Wanda said when she recovered herself. "Just finished Jean's room. It's taking awhile."

"Ahh. Want some help?"

"You are aware these are your teammates we're pranking?"

"If I lived in the dorms, would you be stringing up my room?"

"No."

"Well?"

Wanda grinned. "Sure, I'd love the help. I'm seriously regretting telling Remy I'd do this."

"Okay then," Marie started to reach for the string then stopped, "I'm just going to check out Jean's room first."

Wanda chuckled wickedly. Marie zipped out and scampered down the hall to Jean's room. She opened up the door and burst out laughing at the sheer amount of string she saw. It was tied to absolutely everything Wanda could find a place to tie it to: knobs on the furniture, the curtain rod, the curtain rings, the wardrobe was open and string had been tied to individual hangers, the legs and arms and other parts of the framework of all the furniture. If Wanda could get string around it, there was. Marie returned to Kitty's room shaking her head.

"Jean isn't even going to be able to walk in there without a pair of scissors," Marie said, giggling as she picked up the second ball of string intended for Kitty's room.

"Yeah, I know," Wanda replied deviously. "That knowledge is about the only thing making this worth it."

Stringing up Kitty's room went a lot faster with Marie's help and once that was done they moved onto Jubilee's.

"So, gotten any more roses from Pyro lately?" Marie inquired as they worked on Jubilee's room.

"Yeah," Wanda replied. She tried not to get all girly-gushy about it but she did think it was awfully sweet when a single red rose mysteriously appeared amongst her things occasionally, or located in a spot meant for her like inside her Cello case. "It's a good thing Father and Pietro can't come into the girls dorms. I think they'd freak if they knew how often my vase had a rose sitting in it."

Marie chuckled knowingly.

"Well, I'd love to hang around and see how this goes," Marie said once Jubilee's room was a mass of string, "but I suspect I should practice a little discretion and pretend I know nothing about this."

"Yeah, plus everyone knows you've got flying lessons and martial arts classes on Saturdays," Wanda replied with a grin. "There's your alibi right there."

Marie laughed. "Exactly!"

"Be sure to let us know how things go down on your end," Wanda said gleefully.

"Oh, don't you worry, I will."

* * *

Jean, Kitty, Scott, and Piotr were the first to return to their rooms, the rest of the X-Men still occupied with their movie marathon. They split ways when they got to the dorms and headed to their rooms.

"No way," Jean exclaimed upon opening her door. "No freaking way."

"What?" Kitty asked, pausing on her way, as her room was further down the hall from Jean's. She peered into Jean's room and covered her mouth to smother her giggles.

"Thanks for the support," Jean said dryly, and attempted to get into her room through all the string. "Okay, seriously, this is ridiculous. Where are my scissors?"

Kitty giggled as she watched Jean attempt to negotiate her way to the desk. Some of the string she was able to step through or duck under, but more of it was pulled too tight for her to move it up or down easily.

"This is so not funny," Jean said, then added slyly as another thought occurred to her: "You know, they might have done it to your room too."

Kitty paused then dashed down the hall to her room. She pushed the door in and was torn between bursting into laughter and crying out in anguish.

* * *

Kurt cracked up laughing. Bobby and Jubilee, and the rest of the sophomores in rollcall that Monday morning all looked at him.

"It's really not that funny," Jubilee said. "Do you have any idea how long it took me to clear a path? I've still got bits of string hanging off places."

"It was a pretty good prank though," Bobby said. "Have to get them back for it, big time, but it was good."

"Please," Kurt gasped out between his laughter, "please tell me you have photos."

"Yep," Bobby replied cheerfully. "I'll show you later. Photos are on my phone and I don't have it right now."

"Right. So they got all of you this time?" Kurt asked.

"Except Rogue, yeah," Jubilee replied, them mumbled: "Stupid lucky duck gets to live with her dad."

"Yeah," Bobby said. "I guess even Remy and Pyro aren't brave enough to sneak into Howlett's house."

"Either that or Wanda told them not to," Kurt said. "They're still friends, after all."

"Stupid fraternising with the enemy," Jubilee muttered.

* * *

"Alright maggots," Victor said at gym class later that day, as all the students sat around the blue mat upon which he and Logan stood. "Here's how the tournament is going to work. You're going to compete in three minute matches against each other. These are demonstration matches only, you will be judged on your individual performance by your specific coach."

He went on to explain that the boys would have a series of seven rounds during which one X-Boy and one Brother would be eliminated each round. The girls would have two rounds, one in which every X-Girl fought each Sister, and a second in which the X-Girl and the Sister with the highest scores from the previous round would face off against each other. Like last year, although there were seven boys on each side, the girls were uneven with four X-Girls and three Sisters.

"Remember," Logan spoke up once Victor had finished, "these are only demonstration matches. Accidents will happen but we don't want to see any of you deliberately trying to hurt your opponent."

Logan took a long look at the group, then announced the first match would be Piotr and Remy. John studied the blue mat as Remy played with Piotr in his usual style. John just wasn't interested. He was also half looking forward to and half dreading his match. With any luck it would be his last one for the year and he wanted it to be over with. His preference was that he didn't fight at all.

After three minutes, the fight with Remy and Piotr was over and Logan announced the next match:

"Summers, Allerdyce."

Stifling a sigh, John got up onto the mat. As he faced off against Scott—one of the better X-Men at that—all he could think about was how much he did not want to be doing this. He just wanted to run away from it all.

So John ran.

He bolted off the mat through the gap he left behind between Wanda and Remy where he'd been sitting. Scott stared after him in confusion.

"What the hell? Allerdyce!" Victor bellowed. "Get your ass back here or it's detention, coward!"

"Nu-uh!" John replied dancing around from foot to foot at the other end of the hall. "It's a legitimate strategy!"

Logan covered his mouth to hide his laughter. The other students weren't nearly so discreet.

"I said get your ass back here," Victor yelled. "Fight like a man."

"He who fights and runs away, lives to fire bomb another day!" John shouted back.

Before anyone could find a way to force him onto the mat (or worse, Scott got it into his head to chase him), John ran out the gymnasium doors.

"Quicksilver," Victor shouted at Pietro, "bring that Vegemite loving Kiwi back here or it's detention for all you!"

Pietro was on his feet in seconds and shot out of the gym, Remy pointing out, "Kiwis are New Zealanders."

"Same difference," Victor grumbled.

* * *

**Continue **onto** JayCee's RedGold's** _Gym Class Anti-Heroes_ – Chapter 12


	37. Drnk Txt Rmeo

**Chapter 37: ****Drnk Txt Rmeo**

After John's dramatic exit, the coaches decided to continue on with the tournament while they waited for Pietro to bring John back. When he returned a few minutes later, Victor gave the boy detention but was over ruled by Xavier. Apparently the headmaster wanted to come by and remind the coaches that there would be no impromptu 'beating the snot out of each other' demo fights this year.

He also took Pyro's side, "Running away from a fight is a perfectly acceptable response to many situations, such as if help is nearby in the form of police, or if one is outnumbered."

Victor didn't agree but was outnumbered himself when Logan said, "Learning defensive moves is all well and good but physical fighting is not always the correct response. Anyone who says 'they've never ran away from a fight in their life' is either lying or self-destruction waiting to happen."

Pyro was declared as having 'forfeited' the tournament, a feat everyone talked about with envy but would dare not attempt themselves.

The rest of the tournament week seemed to go faster than Remy was really happy with. He liked the martial arts competition. Sure, sparring with the other students wasn't very challenging but he had his own ways to make it fun and he always had Marie's matches to look forward to, as well as dread.

He wanted so much to be able to get over her, he really did, but despite the fact that they spent very little time with each other lately his feelings for her just wouldn't go away. The most difficult one was home economics since they were paired up in that class for practical stuff, but he felt they managed to be civil with each other. In rollcall Marie had taken to sitting with Jean and Scott instead of John and himself, and she continued to sit with the X-Men at lunch too.

This week in gym class was harder though because Remy loved watching Marie effortlessly fight the other girls. She was just so beautiful and graceful in the way she moved and watching her dredged to the surface the feelings he was so desperately trying to push down.

Come Friday, there were only a few more rounds to deal with, the boys with seven more, the girls only having one. They started off with the first six of the boy's matches then they stopped to have the girl's final match.

"Marie and Wanda," Logan announced.

Wanda got up, stifling a sigh. She wasn't really surprised she was the one going up against Marie a second time since the only other options were Tabitha and Lorna. Still, Wanda didn't really appreciate being made to fight her friend.

The two girls bowed and Remy watched as he relaxed between matches. Marie might have been going easy on her opponents but it didn't reflect badly on her for a second. If anything, the knowledge that she wasn't pushing herself, wasn't trying to be the best, just made her all the more tantalising.

The three minutes were up both too soon and not soon enough, with Marie declared the winner as everyone expected, the final rounds being the only ones where Victor and Logan would declare an actual winner. Scott and Remy were then called up to fight the final round for the boys. Remy had to admit, Scott gave him a much harder time than he had in the past but a few weeks experience once a year for the last four years wasn't nearly enough to put Scott in Remy's league.

"And that makes LeBeau the winner," Victor said smugly as the boys sat down after their match. "So, runt, we have some extra time. What you say I give you your _birthday punches_ a day early this year?"

"I'd say that you hadn't learned your lesson from last year," Logan replied tolerantly, "not to mention Chuck specifically forbade it."

"Oooh! Remy and Rogue should fight!" Tabitha piped up excitedly. "They're the best and then we'll find out who really is the best: Brotherhood or X-Men."

"We don't need a fight for that," said Bobby. "The X-Men rock. We're the best."

"No way," said Pietro. "The Brotherhood is way better and Remy could kick Rogue's butt any day of the week."

"Could not," Kitty said. "Rogue's the best."

Marie bit her bottom lip to hide her grin while the class began to argue with each other across the mat about who was the best. She caught Remy's eyes and he grinned back at her.

"Quiet!" Victor yelled.

The room silenced and everyone looked at him. Victor looked at Logan. "Whaddya say? LeBeau vs Skunkhead?"

"There's a reason why the girls fight girls and the boys fight boys in these matches, Creed," Logan replied tolerantly.

"Huh. Sounds like someone's a little scared his baby girl might get hurt," Victor said snidely.

"Actually, I'm more concerned that you might get a little too upset about one of your boys getting beaten by one of my girls," Logan answered slyly, knowing perfectly well his half-brother's attitudes towards women.

"You needn't bother, since it's not going to happen," Victor retorted.

"Only one way to find out!" Tabitha declared. "Fight! Fight!"

Logan stifled a sigh as the majority of the students joined in with Tabitha's chant. He looked at Marie. Marie gave him a slight smile and a small shrug. Logan lifted his eyes to the ceiling.

"Okay fine," he said.

The students cheered as Remy and Marie got up onto the mat to face each other.

"Alright, alright, settle down already," Logan said, glaring at the eager students.

He waited until they were silent and then told Remy and Marie to begin, the two bowing to each other. It was of no surprise to Logan that Marie went on the offensive straight away. Marie may have been holding back with her classmates but in their sparring sessions she was just as eager as he was to get straight into the action. Remy, although forced onto the defensive straight off, was both agile and crafty, dodging her initial attacks before turning them back on her.

Marie grinned at Remy as she dodged, moving backwards in the process. Now, this was what she called a sparring match! Remy pressed his advantage and attacked while Marie worked to either dodge or use his attacks against him.

She had to admit, although she was still angry at him for accusing her of blabbing his "deep dark secrets" to everyone, her anger had taken a backseat to how much she missed him. She knew it could never work out between them but if losing the romance wasn't bad enough, to lose their friendship as well? There had been no effort made on either side to repair things between them, not since that unacceptable apology he gave her. Incited by her thoughts, she renewed her attack with a fresh burst of energy.

Remy's entire thought process on his match with Marie could be summed up in three words: hottest fight ever. This was even better than sparring with Bella Donna. Although sparring with Bella Donna did usually lead to another kind of sparring right after, he suspected that wouldn't happen with Marie. Still, he could dream.

Logan frowned as the match progressed. To the casual observer it seemed like an ordinary, every day sparring match between two advanced opponents. But the casual observer wouldn't be looking at the way Remy and Marie were looking at each other. The casual, uneducated observer would be too enthralled by the amazing kicks, jabs, dodges, and other moves that could only be performed well after years of practise to even see the lingering fingers, the missed opportunities, the preference for actions that brought them up close rather than keeping their distance. The latter wasn't too much of a worry as far as Marie was concerned—she liked close combat—but Remy had previously demonstrated a preference for keeping his distance.

This wasn't a fight. This was a flirtation. The thought made Logan feel ill and he checked the time; still far too much left on the clock as far as he was concerned.

Remy swung his leg around for a high kick but Marie anticipated it, caught it, and pinned it to her side. For a brief moment their eyes met with Remy balanced on one leg. At the same time, Marie moved forward with her free hand to get him in the shoulder as Remy kicked his other leg in their air, leaning backwards. Everyone gasped as Remy's leg caught Marie under the arm, their combined momentum sent Marie flying over Remy's head. She gasped as the fall knocked the wind out of her, while Gambit landed on his feet like a cat.

Not to be outdone, at least not for long, Marie twisted around and swiftly jabbed Remy in the back of the knee. He caught himself before he toppled over, only to have Marie help him along some more by grabbing his leg and pulling it back. Remy fell forward onto his stomach. Marie attempted to pin him down, only for Remy to scramble out of it at the last second and turn the tables on her. He straddled her, pinning down her arms and legs in the process, grinning down at her.

"I think I like this position," he said.

Marie glared at him. She wriggled for a moment, testing the hold, then smiled sweetly up at him.

"You know something, sugar?" she said coyly. "I think I do too."

Tabitha and Lorna both went "aww". Their "aww" became louder and others joined in when Remy leaned down and kissed her. He couldn't help it. He missed her so much and wanted her so badly. He didn't even hear his classmates' response.

Nor did he realise that his grip had loosened.

Next thing Remy knew, he was face first on the mat, locked into a hold he wasn't familiar with. While he was realising his mistake and berating himself for it, Logan called time. Marie held him in place for just a moment longer, then released him.

"Woohoo! Rogue wins!" Kitty cheered.

"Only 'cause she cheated and used her feminine wiles," said Lance.

"Hey, Remy flirted first," Kitty insisted, glaring at him, "and he was the one who kissed her. Not the other way around. Rogue totally wins."

"Does not!"

"Does too!"

"X-Men rule! Brotherhood drool!" Jamie shouted.

Marie wiped her mouth. "Tell me about it."

* * *

Remy dreaded his last class of the day. Normally he looked forward to autoshop but it occurred to him after gym class that perhaps kissing his autoshop teacher's only daughter in front of him—especially when they weren't even dating any more and he was engaged to another woman—was probably not the smartest idea.

Much to his surprise, Logan didn't behave any differently towards him at all during class. No singling him out, no trying to make things difficult for him, no detentions for imagined slights. Remy really wasn't sure what to make of it at all. He just stayed on his absolute best behaviour and tried to hide his anxiety.

Finally the last bell of the day rang.

"And you're dismissed," Logan said. "LeBeau, stay behind a minute."

_"Aha!" _Remy thought to himself. _"This is how he's going to do it."_

The two waited until the other students departed. Logan half sat on the edge the car they'd been looking at that day, his arms folded across his chest, looking at Remy steadily. Remy stared back, determined not to let the coach intimidate him.

"You got something to say to me?" Logan asked.

Remy paused. Not what he was expecting. "Uhh..."

"'Cause you've been acting weird all class," Logan went on.

"Oh, well," Remy replied, trying to hide how awkward he felt. "I just figured you'd be mad about what happened in gym class today."

"Yeah, I am," Logan replied, inwardly smirking. "But there are reasons we don't have girls vs boys matches, you and Marie demonstrated one of them today. I think it worked out pretty well, actually. I don't think Victor will be so eager for one next year."

Remy blinked in surprise. "So... you're not mad about me kissing Ro-, umm, Anna?"

Logan was a little surprised to hear Remy use "Anna" instead of "Marie". He thought he was the only one at the school who called her that.

"Nope," Logan replied. "Why should I be? You had her at a disadvantage and she managed to turn things around for the win. I couldn't be prouder. Real fights aren't about playing fair. They're about using every advantage you have to win because in real fights, people die. I know, I've been in more than my share."

Remy nodded slowly.

"Do you know if the baby's a boy or a girl yet?" Logan asked.

"Boy," Remy replied, a little surprised at the abrupt change of subject.

"Pity," Logan said slyly. "I was hoping you were going to have a daughter."

Remy stared at Logan, then a grin appeared on his face. "I'm sure you're not the only one who's disappointed."

Logan chuckled. "Get out of here. Enjoy your weekend."

"Will do. You too, Mr Howlett."

* * *

Logan woke up Saturday morning to a light knock on his door. A little surprised, he called "come in" and proceeded to be even more surprised when Marie entered with a breakfast tray.

"Happy birthday, Dad," she said a little shyly as she presented the tray.

Logan looked at the tray and then back at his daughter. He smiled.

"Thanks, darlin'," he said as he sat up.

"You're welcome," Marie replied, sounding pleased as she sat the tray on his lap. "I hope it's okay. I wasn't sure how you liked your eggs."

"I'm sure they'll be fine, however you made 'em," Logan answered firmly.

Marie smiled, hesitated, and then asked, "Sooo, whatcha gonna do about Uncle Victor?"

"Nothing," Logan replied. "Chuck wants us to keep our fights away from you kids and off school grounds. The best way I can think of to get the better of Victor is not giving him the opportunity to attack today, so I'm planning on spending the whole day here."

"The whole day?" Marie asked. "Wouldn't you like to go out to dinner or something with Ms Monroe? I could come with. I'm a student."

Logan grinned at her.

"Sure," he said. "I'd like that."

* * *

Although Marie and Remy spent a lot of time thinking about each other and their recent fight and kiss, that was about all that did with each other. They went through the weekend choosing to go on avoiding each other, not talking, but occasionally sneaking glances when they thought no one would notice.

"Why don't you just talk to him?" Jean asked as they sat in the cafeteria over dinner on Sunday night.

"Huh?" Marie asked, momentarily distracted from watching Remy on the other side of the room.

"Remy," Jean said. "Why don't you go talk to him?"

Marie shrugged and turned her attention to her food. "Why for?"

"Because you haven't been able to stop watching him all dinner?" Jean suggested dryly. "Seriously Marie, okay, I don't approve of him sleeping around as much as he does, umm did, but it's obvious he still likes you and you like him."

"Again, why for?" Marie asked. "He has a pregnant fiancée."

"Well, you might make friends work."

"I think we've proven that we're not going to work."

"Okay, so interrupting," Kitty said, glancing up at the table from the new, cheap mobile phone she had purchased that day. "I have everyone's phone number except Wanda's and Remy's. Rogue?"

Marie looked at Kitty with some surprise. "Why don't you ask them yourself?"

"Because I'm pulling a prank."

"Ahh."

"So? Do you happen to have their numbers?"

"Yeah..." Marie replied slowly. "But I really don't think I should give them out without their permission. Especially when I know you're pulling a prank."

"Huh," Kitty answered thoughtfully. "I don't know whether I should be impressed that you have such respect for other people's privacy or really annoyed you're being such a spoil sport."

"Or concerned that so many people don't have respect for other people's privacy," Jamie said. "'Cause I gave you three of those phone numbers, so it's clear I don't."

"How did you even get them?" asked Bobby.

Jamie shrugged. "I used to be friends with some of them."

"Used to be?" Scott repeated, jumping on those words. "Let me guess, that changed when this silly little prank war started going out of hand."

"Something like that," Jamie replied.

"Well, isn't this interesting?" Jean said, and it was only then that Marie realised the other girl had taken out her phone. "I still have Remy's number in here."

"You do?" Kitty asked eagerly.

"And Wanda's too..." Jean went on with a slight frown. "I don't even remember getting Wanda's number. We've never been friends. Hmm, must have been a special occasion of some kind. Anyway, Rogue's right; I've been entrusted with these numbers and I shouldn't just give them out, especially when I know they're going to be used to pull pranks."

"Rats," Kitty muttered.

"So, I'm just going to leave my phone right here..." Jean said, pulling her phone on the table, not far from Kitty, "and visit the ladies' room. Excuse me."

Kitty and a few others giggled as Jean departed. As soon as Jean was out of the cafeteria, Kitty snatched up her phone and started going through the address book so she could add Remy and Wanda's phone numbers to her new phone.

"I don't get it, though," said Bobby. "Why'd you get a new phone?"

"Two reasons," Kitty replied as she tapped away on her phone. "One, Lance at the very least has my number amd I don't want him knowing it's coming from me. That would kind of spoil things a bit."

"And open you up to getting pranked by them," Scott pointed out.

"Two," Kitty went on, choosing to ignore Scott's comment although she had thought of that herself. "I wanted to set a particular message as a response should anyone try to call this number back and I really don't think my parents would get the joke if I set it on my real phone."

"What message?" Bobby asked.

"Hang on..."

Jean returned from the restroom just as Kitty was getting the last part of her prank into position.

"Oh look," Jean said as she sat down, "my phone, just where I left it."

Marie snickered. She had been a little torn about the whole thing. She knew Remy in particular would enjoy a good prank (key word being 'good') but she didn't really want to get into too deep in the prank war. As far as she was concerned Wanda was her friend first. Marie had no desire to let the X-Men and Brotherhood's rivalry—in whatever form that may take—get between them.

"Okay," Kitty said, her eyes focus on her phone as she made the final key strokes. "I am now sending an email to all of the Brotherhood that says: 'One of the X-Men put a camera in your bathroom and now there's a video of you on the toilet on Youtube.' I've attached the link, well, a link."

As if on cue, a series of beeps and tunes were heard from the Brotherhood's table. Those who had the best vantage points, including Marie, looked up and saw all of them reaching for their phones.

"Now hopefully one of them will decide to use their phone to check out the link," Kitty said. "Otherwise we'll have to wait until later. Oh, hopefully the volume will be loud enough."

"What link did you send them?" Bobby asked.

"Let me guess," Jamie said gleefully, "you rickrolled them."

"Oh yeah," Kitty replied smugly.

"Rickrolled?" asked Bobby.

"It's when you send someone a link saying it's one thing," Kitty explained, "but when they check it out, it actually takes them to a recording of Never Gonna Give You Up by Rick Astley."

Jamie started giggling as the sound of music came from one of the phones at the Brotherhood's table.

"Rick who?" Bobby asked.

"Some guy from the 80s or something," Kitty said.

More music came from the Brotherhood's table, along with some hearty laughter from Remy and John.

"And incidentally," Kitty went on, "if they try ringing this number, it'll just take 'em to voicemail, which plays the same thing."

Abruptly, they heard the discordant voices of Remy and John singing along with the chorus as loudly as they could:

_"Never gonna give you up,  
Never gonna let you down,  
Never gonna run around and desert you,  
Never gonna make you cry,  
Never gonna say goodbye,  
Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you!"_

"Aww, they like it," Bobby said with little pout. "That's no fun."

"You kidding? That's the best type of prank," Kitty insisted.

"I don't think everyone liked it," Marie said.

Marie was somewhat relieved that the death glare Wanda was sending their way wasn't specifically intended for her.

* * *

**Continue **onto** JayCee's RedGold's** _Gym Class Anti-Hero_ – Chapter 13


	38. Blinded by the Sun

**Chapter 38: ****Blinded By the Sun**

With the following day came the start of Xavier's school's basketball season. As per usual, Logan and Victor started off their kids with doing drills in preparation for their games against each other.

Logan found he really enjoyed having Marie as his assistant during self defence so he enlisted her once again. As basketball teams only needed five people, and Logan had eleven students, he put Marie in charge as the 'coach' of one group of five so the two halves could play against each other.

"Nepotism," Jean accused jokingly when Logan announced it.

"I'm sure if I do a bad job, he won't hesitate to fire my butt," Marie replied with a grin.

Marie's appointment to assistant coach didn't go unnoticed by the Brotherhood as she found out in home economics on Tuesday. It was another practical class and she was busy mixing up the ingredients for her corn fritters when Remy commented on her "promotion."

"Everything went well with the martial arts and we do have odd numbers," Marie replied nonchalantly. "I imagine that it makes things easier for Dad this way."

Remy grinned at her. "And to think, when you first came here you hated your father and wanted nothing to do with him. Now you're working side by side like you've been this close your entire lives."

"Just think, Remy," Marie said slyly. "You've been doing all this bitching and oh-woe-is-me'ing about getting married and being a father and having to continue the family business..."

"Oh, very funny," Remy answered irritably.

Marie paused for a moment in her mixing and regarded Remy for a moment. "Just what is your family's business anyway?"

"We're a gang of thieves."

"Fine, don't tell me then."

"And Bella Donna's really from a family of assassins," Remy went on with a smirk.

"You know something?" Marie said thoughtfully. "I can almost see that."

Remy chuckled and inspected the brownie mixture he was working on. It had been awhile since they'd been able to talk this comfortably.

"So, are you actually going to be playing us on Friday? Or are you going to be side-lined?" Remy asked.

"Oh don't you worry, Swamp Rat," Marie replied as she set her mixing bowl aside and picked up the frying pan. "I'm playing reserve for both teams so I'll have plenty of opportunities to kick all your butts."

Remy accidentally-on-purpose brushed past Marie to pick up the cake pan he'd prepared earlier.

"I look forward to it," he murmured into her ear.

Marie felt a shiver go down her spine and she swallowed hard as she quickly busied herself with her cooking. Remy smiled to himself as he pulled away with the cake pan. He knew he shouldn't flirt with her but screw it. He only had a few more months left before he couldn't flirt with other women unless he was working and he was going to make the most of it.

* * *

The following day, Remy brought his container of brownies into the locker room with him.

"Hey," he said, placing it on a bench in the middle of the room, "brownies for whoever wants 'em. I made a stack of them in Home Ec yesterday."

"Oooh brownies," John said delightedly. "Me!"

He raced over and opened up the container to swipe one. Scott looked at the container with a frown of suspicion and then at Remy.

"Right," Scott said, "like we're really going to fall for that."

"Fall for what, mon ami?" Remy asked innocently, taking a brownie for himself.

"Last time you gave us food you prepared in Home Ec it had hot sauce in it," Scott replied. "I'll pass."

"These are hot sauce free, I assure you," Remy replied as he headed into his cubicle to change, "but hey, if you don't want to eat any, all the more for the rest of us."

A few others—mostly Brotherhood, but also Kurt and Bobby—helped themselves to the brownies before and after changing, which they needed to eat quickly so not to get in trouble from Victor for running late or for eating during class. Because of this, the rest of the X-Men (who were tempted but suspicious) were out of the locker room first.

"Hey Rogue," Scott said while they warmed up for their one mile run, "you have Home Ec with Remy, right?"

"Yep, why?" Marie asked.

"He offered us the brownies he made in class last night. Well, all of us guys anyway," Scott said. "You wouldn't happen to know if he put anything in them?"

"What? Other than milk and eggs? They're safe," Marie said with a nod. "I had a couple myself yesterday. He had some of my corn fritters. It was delicious. My fritters, I mean. Remy's brownies were okay but they pale in comparison to corn fritters."

Scott grinned at her. "Right."

And thus it was after class that upon seeing that the brownies were still there (although not quite as many as before), and that those who had eaten some were unaffected, all the X-Boys had some brownies. They thanked Remy, who didn't seem to mind that they were initially suspicious, commenting he probably would have been too.

During the next period, the seven X-Boys needed to made urgent trips to the toilets. A couple of them didn't quite make it. Afterwards, they declared Remy must have put a laxative in the brownies but Remy insisted he had done no such thing. Lots of others had been eating his brownies (he also shared them at lunch) and they were just fine.

"And besides," Remy said in conclusion, "pranks involving poo are juvenile, unnecessarily gross, and not at all my style."

He didn't mention that John felt differently and had full access to the brownies once everyone left the locker room.

With absolutely no proof as to the culprit—laxative or otherwise—the school decided to drop the matter. Students were, however, reminded that they weren't supposed to eat during class.

* * *

Friday was the first of the basketball games between the X-Men and the Brotherhood. It was evident that Logan and Victor had different ideas on who should be in which team. Victor put his five best basketball players in one team while Logan spread his better athletes through both of his teams. The results were fairly predictable: the X-Men won one game and the Brotherhood won the other.

Over the weekend, the X-Men got some revenge for their unfortunate brownies experience. They sneaked into the Brothers bedrooms and set their ensuite doors ajar and placed a container full of water on top. They found out later that they got everyone except Remy and John.

The following weekend, the Brotherhood went into the X-Men's bedrooms (both boys and girls) and put toothpaste on the underside of all the light switches and Vaseline on all the door handles.

"And then one of my kids decided it would be a good idea to put a piece of dry ice into each of the Brotherhood boys showers," Logan said while inspecting his cards around the table at his place. "Next thing we know, there's smoke coming out of the boys' locker room."

Nick Fury snickered as he tossed a couple of cards on the table, accepting replacements from Ororo.

"Little punk was real proud of himself too," Logan went on disgustedly while Victor also traded a couple of cards. "Started calling himself the Iceman. Nevermind the fact the Brothers were bloody lucky they didn't end up treading on the stuff with bare feet."

"Iceman," Wade repeated with a snicker and a flick of his cards. "That's a good one. I'll take three please!"

"I would have given that little snot a lot more than a week's detention for that stunt," Victor said with a growl.

Logan shrugged and handed over a couple of cards to Ororo in exchange for new ones. "He was honest enough to admit what he did."

"But he is not remorseful. He is taking pride in what he did," Ororo pointed out.

"Oh, he's gonna be remorseful when his detention's up."

"Oh yeah?" Nick Fury asked with a smirk. "What do you have him doing? Writing lines? 'I shall not put dry ice in the shower.'"

"He wishes," Logan replied smugly. "I have him helping Dr McCoy in the lab."

Fury opened up the betting for the next round and then said: "That's a punishment?"

"Hank might seem like a big teddy bear but he's a real beast when it comes to his lab," Logan said with a nod, "and 'Iceman' made the mistake of stealing from it."

Wade cracked up laughing.

"He's a real beast," Wade repeated like it was the funniest thing he heard all day. "Man, that's almost as good as 'Ro's pilot nickname being 'Storm' because all of all the crazy weather she can fly through."

"That is why I am called 'Storm'," Ororo replied while Victor called Fury's bet.

"Yes, yes, of course it is," Wade said in amusement. "So, what's next? We're gonna find out that there's an old military training ground called the Savage Land? Oh! I call!"

"There is an old military training ground called the Savage Land," Fury said, giving Wade an odd look as Wade tossed his bet into the middle. "You know that. You've been there."

"Raise," Logan said, adding his bet to the mix.

"Absolutely," Wade said cheerfully. "I remember the Savage Land. I remember all the dinosaurs too."

"Well, we're just about done clearing out all the old equipment," Fury replied with a shrug. "So there won't be any 'dinosaurs' there for much longer."

Wade burst into mad giggles. The other four looked at each other as if to say "Great, he's in one of his moods again."

"I fold," Ororo said, turning her cards over.

"I remember the Savage Land," Victor said with the voice of something thinking back on fond memories. "Pity we can't take the rugrats there. Might toughen them up a bit."

"I think the Savage Land would be a little too dangerous for them," Logan said. "They lack proper training. It's not called the Savage Land for the fun of it."

Wade, who had only just gotten over his last bout of laughter, dissolved into another one.

"Call," Fury said as he updated his bet and ignored Wade. "Ain't gonna be that dangerous once we're done clearing out the equipment. It's also going to be awhile before we get around to renovating the place."

"Call," said Victor. "Pity. I wouldn't mind seeing the little punks playing capture the flag paintball with all those booby traps lying around."

"Well, I don't know about the booby traps," said Fury thoughtfully, "but I think we could arrange to have them do paintball there."

Victor, Logan, and Ororo looked at each other, then at Fury.

"Fold!" Wade announced, flinging his cards on the table.

"Are you sure all the booby traps are going to be cleared out?" Ororo asked cautiously.

"Positive. We have plans with all the locations marked," Fury said. "I wouldn't make the offer if I thought there was a chance we might miss something. Besides, half of them don't even work properly any more."

"Shame," Victor said. "So, are the new ones going to be even more vicious? Or are we pandering to the poor losers coming in now who can't handle things being a bit tough?"

"Do not even get me started on that," Fury said irritably. "The amount of whining I have to deal with these days, anyone would think we were training for a tea party."

* * *

The final week of basketball arrived and the X-Men and Brotherhood were tied, Victor's team of "winners" having the most points. As they changed for Friday's class, Remy mulled over how there would be just one game today to determine the winning side. He knew Victor would likely put his best players on all the time, while Logan would rotate his, so there were good odds he and Marie would be playing against each other during the game today.

Remy paused with his white gym shirt in his hand. He shoved the shirt back into his bag, finished dressing, and put his bag in the locker. As he left the locker room and headed with his teammates over to Victor, Tabitha wolf whistled at him.

"Helloooo sexy!" she said.

Remy smiled to himself, feeling the eyes of all his classmates on him.

"Where the hell is your shirt, LeBeau!" Victor demanded.

"I seem to have forgotten it, sir," Remy replied nonchalantly as he stopped in front of his coach. "Do you mind if I run back to my dorm room to get it?"

"You forget your shirt you can damn well play without it," Victor said, started to say something else, then seemed to change his mind after a glance towards Logan. "And if you forget any part of your uniform again, you can do detention."

"Duly noted."

The students did their warm ups as led by their coaches, then the game began. Victor's team consisted of Remy, Wanda, Pietro, Lance, and Todd. If he had to, Victor would use Evan or John as a substitute but otherwise he didn't want any of his other kids on the court. They just weren't good enough and this was a tie breaker game for goodness sake! He was looking forward to Tabitha's trash talking though, she might not be great at sports but at least she wasn't completely useless.

Logan's starting team consisted of Scott, Jean, Alex, Bobby, and Kitty. By the time Logan started rotating his players, the Brotherhood were off to a strong lead. Victor thought that Logan was pretty much cheating, he should have his best players up there all the time instead of giving them time to rest.

Finally, to Remy's utter delight, Marie was sent onto the court. To Marie's complete lack of surprise, Remy became her shadow almost immediately, staying with her. A part of her was flattered by the attention, the rest of her was angry. How dare he continue to pursue her like this!

"Try not to get too distracted by those rock hard abs, Rogue!" Tabitha called out when Marie got the ball.

Marie faltered for just a moment and that was all Remy needed to get the ball off her. They were close enough to their basket for him to shoot, so he did. Despite Marie's attempt to get the ball back, the Brotherhood scored another goal. Tabitha cheered.

"Like something you see, chère?" Remy murmured.

"Sure," Marie replied snidely, "that sunburn on your back."

As the game continued it became evident Remy had zero intentions of leaving Marie's side unless absolutely necessary. Rogue was one of Logan's better athletes but she didn't have Remy's height, nor was she as good as he was at shooting hoops.

"Maybe you should swap Rogue," Scott murmured to Logan. "Remy's too close, she can't do anything."

Logan, who had been watching Marie and Remy critically throughout, shook his head.

"You don't learn anything in life if you're always leaving when things get tough," Logan replied quietly. "Besides, if Remy's occupied with Stripes, he isn't going after anyone else."

"I guess," Scott replied dubiously.

Logan switched a couple of the other students around and left Marie on the court. He was curious to see how Marie would handle Remy's attention but he was prepared to pull her out if it looked like she wasn't going to handle it.

Tabitha continued to call things out, but her favourite target was Marie. She was fiendishly delighted with the love triangle Remy had gotten himself into.

"Hey Rogue, that's Remy's ball you just grabbed!"

"Hey Remy, I think Rogue's shadowing you!"

"Rogue, this is basketball, not a dance! Stop grinding with Remy. You're embarrassing yourself!"

Marie just grit her teeth and did her best to tune Tabitha out and concentrate on the game.

Somehow, with only a few minutes left in the game, the X-Men and the Brotherhood were tied. This annoyed Victor to no end since his team had been absolutely destroying the X-Men in the beginning. Somehow the little punks had managed to catch up. Marie was still in the game with Remy persisting at her side.

Remy caught the ball and Marie moved quickly, determined to get the ball before he could shoot it over her head. He was fast, dodging around her, trying to get the shot. Marie's hand grazed over his chest. He faltered. Marie took advantage and grabbed the ball. With only seconds left on the clock and no real time to pass it to someone closer, Marie aimed for the basket. The ball sailed through the air and no one was more shocked than Marie when it dropped cleanly though the hoop.

While her teammates cheered, Marie looked down at the court, then back up at the hoop while the basketball bounced across the asphalt. She'd made a three-pointer. She'd never made a three-pointer before. That was more something Remy or Wanda would do.

"Nice shot, chère," Remy said, holding out his hand to her.

"Thanks," Marie replied, far too pleased and surprised at herself to be cross with him.

She accepted his hand, expecting him to shake it, but in typical Remy style he lifted it to his lips and kissed the back of it instead.

"Hey! Stop fraternising with the enemy, LeBeau!" Victor bellowed.

Remy rolled his eyes and Marie smirked at him as he released his hand.

* * *

**Continue **onto** JayCee's RedGold's** _Gym Class Anti-Heroes_ – Chapter 14


	39. Taxi Driver

**Chapter 39: ****Taxi Driver**

It was the middle of the night and Remy was in the student parking lot. There was barely any light but if there was only one good thing about his light-sensitive eyes, it was that he had better then average night vision. Plus, he also had his smart phone and those things made rather useful torches.

"Oh, yes," Remy said to himself as he heard a click from Scott's car in response to an action on his phone. "Whoever imagined keyless entry would stop thieves was kidding themselves."

He opened up the front passenger door, leaned in, and put a banana into the glove compartment. Smirking to himself, he locked Scott's car up again and moved onto Jean's car, then Sam's. They were going to have a lovely surprise waiting for them on Saturday.

* * *

The following day was Friday and after spending the last two weeks of gym class practising field and track events, the school gathered for their annual athletics day. The X-Men gathered amongst the stands that had been decorated in yellow, the Brotherhood's side in blue.

"Just think, Rogue," Jean said as the two lined up with the other senior girls, Alison and Joanna, for the first of their sprints, "this time last year, you and I were always neck and neck with each other."

"I doubt that's going to change this year," Marie replied, her eyes on the starting gun.

"Probably not, but it'll definitely be a win for the X-Men, either way."

Joanna made a rude noise. "I don't care if I am the only Sister here. You're all going down."

"You're going to be cleaning up afterwards," Alison said, "that's what's going to happen."

In the reverse, where the year before Tabitha, Jubilee, and Amanda had all been X-Men, this year Tabitha was determined to do her new team proud. She might not have been the most athletic of the three—that position went to the gymnast, Jubilee—but that wasn't going to stop her. Tabitha couldn't really understand why more people didn't like Victor. They'd always gotten along great.

In between his events, John tied a yellow beach towel around his neck like a cape and headed over to the X-Men's section with a pen and a big greeting card. The X-Men who noticed him eyed him with suspicion and curiosity.

"Hey," John said, walking up to the first X-Man he saw, Kitty. "Would you sign this card? It's for Remy."

Kitty looked at the greeting card with some surprise. It was a very big one, clearly intended to be signed by lots of people.

On the front it read: _7 Words To A Long And Happy Marriage:_

And inside: _Yes Dear, I'm sorry, It's my fault_

Kitty giggled. "Sure."

John handed her the card and the pen. Kitty pressed down on the end of the pen to push the end out and was immediately hit with an electric shock.

"Yah!" she exclaimed, then gave John a dirty look when he burst into laughter. "You bastard!"

Still laughing away, John handed over another pen.

"That was just gold," he said. "Here. Here's a real pen."

Kitty eyed the pen suspiciously. John snickered and had to demonstrate that it was a perfectly ordinary pen before she would take it and write with it.

Throughout the day, John made regular visits to the X-Men side to get the card signed. It was difficult to get everyone at once, as they were all moving in and out, participating in the days' events.

"Why are you wearing a yellow towel?" Kurt asked him at one point while accepting the card and pen from John.

"Because if Creed notices someone in blue hanging out in the yellow section, he'll have a hernia," John replied.

"Good point," Kurt replied, promptly getting zapped by the shock-pen.

Towards the end of the day there were only two students who hadn't signed the card: Marie and Remy himself. Although Marie was sitting on the far end of the X-Men side (in an obvious attempt to try and distance herself from Remy), Remy was sitting with her anyway, outright not caring what Victor thought if he saw him. John found this interesting. Remy had always been Creed's favourite, right until these last few months. Tabitha was quickly inheriting that position.

"Hey Rogue," John said, holding the card so Remy couldn't see it. "Would you sign this for me?"

Marie glanced at the cover of the card and grinned. "Sure."

"Careful!" Kitty warned her as John handed the card and pen to her. "It's a shock pen."

Marie glanced at her and pressed down on the top. No shock came. She raised an eyebrow at Kitty. Kitty frowned and glared at John. John grinned at her.

"What is it?" Remy asked as Marie opened the card to sign it.

"You'll get your turn," John said, moving himself between Marie and Remy. "Hold your horses."

"Can't," Remy replied. "Don't have any."

"Your motorcycle has horsepower," Marie said as she wrote. "Does that count?"

"But it's all the way in the parking lot," Remy replied, remembering what he did the night before. "Soooo... you gals looking forward to your little X-Men ice cream party tomorrow?"

"Definitely," Kitty said happily. "Plusplusplus, Coach Howlett is coming with us, which is awesome 'cause there weren't enough seats in the student cars for all of us, so I'm going to go with Rogue in her dad's truck."

"You are a little too excited about that," Marie said.

"Have you seen the size of his pickup?" Kitty demanded. "That thing is huge. The tyres are bigger than me."

"It's not _that_ big," Marie said with a roll of her eyes, handing the pen and card back to John.

"Thanks," John said.

"Well, do me a favour and eat a banana sundae for me," Remy said, then frowned when he saw John shove the pen into his pocket. "Hey, I haven't signed it yet."

"Oh right," John replied innocently as Marie and Kitty giggled. "Here you go."

Remy accepted the card and paused as he read the cover. He clenched his jaw and looked up at John's grinning face.

"And I got everyone to sign it for you," John said mischievously.

"Why, thank you, so much," Remy replied tersely with the voice of someone who wasn't at all appreciative.

He opened up the card and started glancing over the messages inside. Joanna's said "Sucked in, you bastard!" in big bold letters that Remy couldn't miss. He gritted his teeth and found Marie's message. He had almost suspected to find something like "Stop flirting with me, asshole!" but instead it read:

"Just remember! Kids are for corrupting into mini versions of yourself so you can continue to terrorise people well into the next generation. Good luck!"

Remy barked out a laugh and gave Marie a nudge.

"Baby's a boy," he said. "I could turn him into my very own Mini Me."

Marie chuckled.

"Read mine!" Kitty said eagerly.

The others around them noticed Remy had the card and very soon there was a gathering of people all wanting to know what he thought of their messages. Eventually the teachers noticed and Victor blew up when he realised that some of his Brotherhood were on the X-Men side:

"This is war! Not a peace convention!" he bellowed at them after a bit of name calling and insisted they return to their seats.

So John and Remy returned to the Brotherhood side, only for Remy to be inundated with his teammates all wanting to know what he thought of _their_ messages.

In the end, the X-Men won the day. After the final scores were announced they left to shower and change for their celebratory dinner, the Brotherhood left to do the cleaning up.

* * *

About midday the next day, the X-Men made their way out to the student parking lot in dribs and drabs, except for Kitty, who met Logan and Marie at their place.

"This was a really good idea," Alison said as Jean unlocked her car.

"Well, Scott and I thought it would be nice to have something to look forward to, regardless of whether we won the competition yesterday," Jean replied. "And hey, we ended up kicking the Brotherhood's butt, so I guess it worked pretty well as a morale boost."

Even before the girls got into the car, their noses were assaulted by the reek of rotten fruit. While Alison, Amanda, and Lila immediately moved away from the car doors, Jean and Cecilia began an inspection to locate the source. Soon enough, Jean found the banana in the glove compartment. After taking a moment to gag, she grabbed some tissues out of her bag to remove the offending item. That wasn't enough to remove the stench, however, and the girls took the drive down to the ice cream parlour with their windows down.

Upon their arrival and meet up with everyone else, they discovered that theirs wasn't the only car that had a banana in it. This led to a discussion—in between finding their reserved seats and buying ice cream—on how in the world the Brotherhood could have gotten into their cars.

"I just don't even know," said Sam. "I always have my keys on me."

"Yeah," Jean said as Marie sat down with her sundae. "Mine are always in my bag and—is that a banana sundae?"

Everyone stopped and looked at Marie. Kitty hid her giggle as Marie calmly licked some of her ice cream off her spoon.

"What?" Marie asked innocently. "All this talk of bananas made me want one."

Kitty couldn't hide her giggles anymore and Jean sent her a withering look.

"You wouldn't be laughing if you had to travel in our cars," Jean informed her.

Kitty waved a hand. "Private joke. Nevermind."

While the others carried on with their conversation, Kitty leaned in towards Marie.

"You're evil, you know that?" she said gleefully.

"I think Remy's the evil one," Marie replied with a grin. "We just happen to share a sense of humour."

"Oh man, how do you suppose he did it?"

Marie shrugged. "We're always saying he's the sneaky one around here."

"I guess so," Kitty replied, glancing at the sundae, then at the other kids. "You know, I think I suddenly have a hankering for a banana sundae too."

Marie chuckled as Kitty headed off.

* * *

The topic of a good revenge prank was the primary discussion over the course of the day and it was Kitty who came up with it:

"I still have that cell phone with their numbers in it," she pointed out.

And thus it was that at 3:00am on Monday morning each of the Brotherhood got an automated call to their phones. Since none of them bothered to turn their phones off at night, they were all woken up by the sound of their respective ring tones. Those who actually answered their phones instead of turning them off, or throwing them against the wall, got to listen to the chorus of Matchbox Twenty's "3AM".

"I'm just going to keep mine off at night from now on," Wanda said over lunch.

"Wish I had that option," Remy muttered. "My family wants me to keep it on at all times."

"Because of the baby?" Wanda inquired and when he nodded, she frowned and asked. "But he's not due until June, right?"

"Might not be due until then, doesn't mean he can't decide to come early or Belle won't have some complication or another," Remy replied. "It's possible. Her mother apparently had trouble with her pregnancies. So they want me to keep my phone on just in case."

"Oh. Is she having a c-section then?"

"They want her to but Belle says that c-sections and painkillers are for wimps," Remy said with a shrug. "They keep trying to change her mind. Obviously they don't appreciate how stubborn she can be."

"Hmm," Wanda said with a frown. "I hope everything goes okay."

Remy nodded, feeling a little uncomfortable, and returned to the original topic. "Yeah, so basically this means the X-men can get me with this prank again. So we shall have to deter them."

"How do you propose we do that?" John asked.

Remy considered for a moment, then grinned. "Let's rearrange the furniture."

And so, the following weekend, the Brotherhood sneaked in the X-Men's rooms when they had the opportunity and moved the few pieces of furniture they had out of place. Just in case that wasn't enough to annoy them, cheap alarm clocks were put in the rooms, hidden in the best places they could find, set to go off at 2 in the morning and another at 4.

It took a fair bit of organising but for their next prank the X-Men filled up the ensuites of the Brotherhood's bedrooms with balloons. They would have liked to have done the whole bedroom but that would have taken a lot more balloons and time than they had.

* * *

After track and field, gym class moved onto volleyball and in the wake of the Brotherhood's victory over the X-Men (if barely), and the upcoming swimming season, Lorna decided to celebrate by bleaching her hair. She was gong to be blonde just in time for summer, it would be great!

While Lorna was busy in her ensuite with bleach in her hair, Wanda came in. She looked over her little sister with a raised eyebrow.

"Let me guess," Wanda said. "You've decided to go blonde after all."

"Yep!" Lorna replied proudly. "I printed off some instructions off the internet. Today I bleach and then next week I—"

"Yeah, that's nice for you," Wanda interrupted. "Excuse me, I have a prank to help John and Remy do."

"Ooooooh, whatcha doing?" Lorna asked eagerly.

Wanda held up a pack of small, low level fireworks. "Putting these under the toilet seats in their bathrooms."

Lorna giggled.

* * *

"...scared me shitless," said Scott over breakfast on Sunday morning, "and I mean that literally."

Marie giggled and tried to hide it.

"So not funny," Jean said, shaking her head before looking at Marie. "And you're only laughing because they didn't target you."

"And a wise thing they didn't," Marie replied sagely but with a smile on her face. "I'd hate to think what would have happened if Dad had been the one to sit on the toilet before I did. Some of us don't have ensuites."

"Ugh, I just don't even want to talk about it," said Kitty. "Change of subject: So, Rogue, Jean and I were going to go downtown and get new swimsuits. Wanna join us?"

"Sorry, I have plans with Wanda. Besides, my suit from last years still fits me..." Marie started to trail off, "just fine... crap."

"I thought we were changing the subject," said Bobby with a grin.

"My suit from last year is blue," Marie said with irritated realisation. "It needs to be yellow, doesn't it?"

"Yep," Jean confirmed with a nod.

Marie sighed. "Well, I guess I had better come with then. I'll just need to cancel or otherwise reschedule with Wanda."

Within due course Marie caught up with Wanda to do just that, then took off with Jean and Kitty downtown as planned.

"Man," Kitty complained as they went through the available selection. "This so sucks we have to wear a one-piece."

"Yes, but that's really all the rules say. They don't specify how many straps it has to have," Jean said with a sly grin as she pulled out a strapless design.

"I'm not sure I'd be game enough to wear a strapless one," Kitty said, looking at her chest. "I'd be too afraid it would fall down."

"Rules don't say anything about backless numbers either," Marie said as she flicked through the rack. "Now, if I can just find one in yellow..."

* * *

And thus it was on Monday that when the students changed for gym class they put on their swimwear instead of their usual gym uniform. John wore a white shirt with his just as he had every year. This won him some of the same old teasing to which he responded as he always did: with a rant about skin cancer.

Remy was already seated outside when Marie and Wanda emerged through the door. He found himself staring at Marie, completely oblivious to Wanda's presence (or anyone else's) and watched as Marie joined her team. The swimsuit was not only backless but missing most of the sides as well, accentuating her chest like the school uniform could never even hope to. He cleared his throat and crossed his legs so that his lower leg was resting on the upper leg of the other. His hands rested across his legs, hiding his lap.

Wanda, however, was not oblivious to Remy and she definitely noticed his gaze and his reaction. As she joined up with the rest of the Brotherhood, she stopped by his side.

"See something exciting?" she murmured with a smirk.

Remy coughed but otherwise didn't respond.

Logan and Victor soon got the class started. They went through all the necessary safety procedures and instructions and after what seemed like forever to the students they were finally allowed into the pool.

It was a productive, if rather unexciting lesson, and all of them got a thorough dunking before the end of it. Everyone showered and changed and those with long hair made sure to give their hair a rinse. After she finished, Lorna stepped out of the cubicle with her bag over her shoulder and a fistful of hair in her hand.

"Hey, Wanda," she started to say.

"Ugh, not now," Wanda said irritably, almost at the locker room door.

"Does my hair look a little green to you?" Lorna asked regardless.

Wanda sighed, sure Lorna was just imagining it, but she walked over to inspect her sister's hair anyway. If nothing else, she figured she might get some ammunition for later. It was to her surprise then when the sight of the ends of Lorna's hair seemed to have a greenish tint.

"Marie?" Wanda called, half turning her head towards her friend. "Second opinion?"

Marie wandered over. "Wouldn't that be a third opinion? Huh, I see what you mean."

"It is green, isn't it?" Lorna said. "It's not just me imagining it?"

"You bleached your hair over the weekend, right?" Marie said, eyeing Lorna's hair critically.

"Uh huh."

"Yeah, that happens. You go swimming in chlorinated water for long enough with bleached hair and it starts to turn green," Marie said with a nod. "I always put conditioner in my hair before I go swimming and thoroughly wash it after with some stuff that's meant to get the chlorine out. Umm, I guess we're a little pressed for time now, but..."

Marie stopped and considered, then pulled out her toiletries bag from her bag and fished out the sample containers she used.

"Here," Marie said, handing them to her. "I have heaps more at home these are just conveniently sized. If you need more before the end of the week, let me know."

Lorna, who had started to get teary, nodded.

"Thank you," she said, gratefully accepting the bottles. "You don't think I'll get detention, do you?"

"I doubt anyone would notice unless they looked close," Wanda assured her. "And if anyone does, just tell them the truth: you bleached your hair and didn't know it would react like that when you went swimming, but now you have some stuff from Marie to make sure it gets cleaned out. And even if someone did give you detention, they'd only make you clean it out anyway. You'll be fine."

Lorna nodded, and then proceeded to give both girls a hug, much to Wanda's discomfort. "Thank you."

* * *

**Continue **onto** JayCee's RedGold's** _Gym Class Anti-Heroes_– Chapter 16


	40. Attention!

**Chapter 40: ****Attention!**

"Ugh," Marie exclaimed, dumping her things down on the couch after returning home from some time at the lake with her friends.

Logan looked up from the TV and his beer. "You didn't have fun, I take it?"

"No, I had fun," Marie said irritably as she sat down with a huff on the lounge. "I'm just getting really sick and tired of Remy flirting with me all the time. It's like he constantly has to be reminded he has a pregnant fiancée."

"Somehow I doubt he needs reminding," Logan replied mildly. "I'm assuming he's trying to forget it."

"Well, he shouldn't. It's rude... and childish," Marie insisted angrily. "He needs to grow up already."

"Something else he's probably trying to put off," Logan sighed and sat his beer down. "Look, Anna, I'm not siding with the kid when I say this, but he's hardly the first groom and father-to-be to freak out before the big day. What do you think bachelor parties are for?"

Marie grunted and glared at the TV, just because it happened to be in front of her.

"His life is about to undergo a major upheaval and he's trying to deal with it any way he knows how," Logan went on. "This is his problem. Stick to your guns, don't let him drag you down in his mess with him."

Marie sighed and nodded.

"I'm glad you had a good time in the lake otherwise," Logan continued. "Now, can you please get your wet things off the sofa?"

* * *

On the following Monday, John let loose a shriek of horror from his cubicle in the locker room as they were changing for class. This shriek was then followed by a string of expletives and peals of laughter from Bobby and Jamie.

"Pyro?" Remy inquired, standing outside the curtain with a suspicious look at those laughing. "You okay there, mon ami?"

Abruptly something mostly white came flying over the curtain rod. Remy picked it up and held it out for everyone to see. John's swimming shirt had been taken to with a black permanent marker: CREED IS A ASSHOLE.

"Well he is," Scott said, looking at it with an unimpressed expression on his face, "but the only person I know who's ever actually called him one to his face is Howlett. Guess you're going out there shirtless today, Pyro."

"Over my dead body!" John retorted.

"It will be dead if Creed sees you in that," Scott said.

"Nah, not even Creed will believe Pyro wrote this," Remy said with a sly grin. "Pyro doesn't even say 'asshole', he says 'arsehole', and he spells i E. He also puts unnecessary 'u' in things, and writes 's' when he should be writing 'z' and... oh, that's the other reason why no one would ever believe Pyro wrote this. Everyone knows he's acing English, there's no way that he'd write 'A' instead of 'AN' before asshole."

"I think it's pretty obvious Pyro didn't write that," Scott said with a pointed look at Bobby and Jamie who quickly made themselves scarce, "but he still has to come out sometime."

Scott left and the rest of the boys shortly followed. Remy returned to his cubicle and came out a moment later with something white in his hands.

"Hey, Pyro, got something for you," he said, tossing it over the curtain rod.

There was a short silence as Remy waited.

"I... How?" Pyro stammered finally in response.

"If you remember, I told you of planning a similar prank," Remy referred back to when he, Rogue and Wanda discovered John's secret. "Well, figured the X-Men might come up with the same idea so that's been sitting in the bottom of my gym bag since swimming started."

Pyro swallowed hard. "Thanks, mate."

"Eh, think nothing of it," Remy replied with a shrug. "I just wanna see the looks on their faces when they discover their prank backfired."

Pryo choked out a laugh and shortly emerged. Remy ignored the fact that his friend's eyes were a little red. They headed out to the pool and were met with Victor's fury upon their arrival.

"What the hell took you so long?" Victor demanded while the rest of his team regarded John in surprise (and Wanda with relief as the boys had filled the girls in on the sabotage to John's shirt.)

"You caught us," Remy replied dramatically. "We've been having a secret love affair."

Incredulous looks and snickering followed. Victor growled. Remy leaned in, intending to take the heat off of John.

"I was the girl," Remy added conspiratorially.

While Remy was getting reamed out by Victor and being called various names, John quietly slipped to the side unnoticed where Wanda waited to comfort him. She was furious at the X-Men and shot death glares over to their side of the pool. The X-Men themselves were somewhat puzzled over John suddenly wearing a shirt.

"I don't get it," Bobby said, frowning. "That was permanent marker and we took out his spare shirt. They couldn't have cleaned it off that quickly."

"What was?" Marie asked.

"Oh, we wrote 'Creed is a asshole' on Pyro's shirt so he wouldn't be able to wear it," Jamie said gleefully, then looked crestfallen. "But he must have had a spare, spare shirt or something. This sucks."

If looks could kill, Marie would have been shooting flaming daggers out of hers right at Bobby and Jamie.

"You. Did. What?" she demanded, loud enough that not only did Logan and the rest of her team stare but her voice carried over to the other side of the pool where it even interrupted Victor's rantings.

"Uhh," Bobby replied awkwardly, not expecting this reaction at all. "It was just a joke."

"Just a joke? Hey, did it every occur to you numbskulls that pranks can hurt people?" Marie shouted at them while waving her finger in their faces. "You, you, you just..." Marie fought to keep herself from spilling John's secret in her anger.

"Yeah, guys," Jean spoke up, a little curious about why Marie would get quite so angry about this particular prank. "Pyro's made it pretty clear he wants to wear a shirt. Maybe there's cancer in his family, or maybe he just burns really easily."

"Heh, Pyro burns easily," Jamie repeated with a chuckle, then promptly shut his mouth and wiped the smile off his face when Marie glared at him.

"That's right, that's exactly it," Marie snapped. "You don't go around endangering people's health for a joke! Oh, but I'm talking to the morons who thought it would be a good idea to put dry ice in people's showers and Nair in their helmets! Clearly you don't give a damn about who you hurt!"

"Okay, that's enough," Logan said, taking that moment to intervene by standing between the groups. "Allerdyce has acquired a shirt, the prank has backfired—this time—no harm has been done. Let's get on with the class."

* * *

The swimming season finished up with the usual whole-school competition on the last Friday (the X-Men won). They then moved onto baseball and preparation for their end-of-year exams.

During the gym classes they spent practising drills, Logan would usually pair himself up with Marie. The act brought back memories of playing baseball with her when she was younger and much shorter than him. Now his baby girl was four or five inches taller than him, making plans to go to college. Her arm had improved significantly too.

He was thinking on these things later one night and came to pause at her open doorway while she studied at her desk. Marie noticed him almost immediately and looked up, wishing she'd closed the door as she found it difficult to concentrate on her studies with someone watching her.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey," he replied, then nodded his head towards the pile of college stuff on her desk, knowing she had been accepted to a few colleges already. "Decided what you want to study, yet?"

"Well, right now I'm working on English..." Marie replied with a faint smile.

"I meant in college," Logan replied, smirking back at her.

Marie chewed her bottom lip for a moment as she contemplated her reply, and then said: "Teaching."

Logan blinked in surprise.

"Specifically, I think I'd like to be a gym coach," she went on, enjoying the startled look on her father's face. "I've always loved sports and I've recently discovered I kind of enjoy teaching too. It's been very...interesting being your assistant coach this last semester."

Logan cleared his throat.

"Well, uhh, not that I want to talk you out of it," he said, "but there's a lot more to it than just that."

"I figured that would probably be the case," Marie replied with a shrug. "It's probably the case with a lot of jobs. I still want to do it."

He nodded. "Well, I'm honoured. And I'm here for you, every step of the way."

Marie grinned. "Thanks Dad. I really need to study now, do you mind closing the door for me?"

"Sure."

Logan closed the door as he left. Marie was just about to get back into her studies again when her phone rang. She growled with irritation, then frowned when Remy's name flashed up on the screen. Weird, despite all his flirting lately, he hadn't called her in awhile.

"Yeah?" she said upon answering.

"Hey Roguey," Remy replied. "I was hoping you wouldn't mind helping me out with a prank."

Marie groaned. "I think I've had enough of pranks and I haven't even been the victim of very many of them."

"Yeah, well, after what happened with Pyro, I've decided it's time to enact the prank to end all pranks. I need to get the girls too, though, and for that I need some information from you," Remy said and when she didn't reply immediately he added: "Please?"

"What did you have in mind?"

* * *

After their baseball game on the Friday before the exams were due to start, the X-Men and the Brotherhood went back to the locker rooms to shower as usual. What they didn't expect to have happen was for their skin (and in some cases hair as well) to end up stained bright colours. Some of them freaked and tried a second shower. Some of the girls thought they would be smart and try to use one of the spare showers that didn't get used but while the colouring didn't get worse, it didn't wash off either.

Eventually Logan noticed the students were taking an awful long time coming out and he went into the boys locker room to investigate. He heard some showers still running and also heard a few boys complaining that they couldn't get it off.

"What's going on?" Logan asked, frowning around the room and wishing he could see faces instead of closed curtains. "You're supposed to be at your next class in two minutes."

The room went silent, then Remy came out of his cubicle with a towel around his waist, his hair and skin stained red. Logan stared at him.

"It, uhh, seems we've been pranked, sir," Remy said. "I don't know what was put in the shower heads but it's not coming out."

"I think it's Kool-Aid," Kurt said, coming out of his cubicle also with a towel around himself, only instead of red he was completely and utterly blue. "If so, it'll take a few days to come out, but it will come out!"

"You seem to know a lot about it," Todd said suspiciously, poking his green face out through the curtain.

"Hey, if you've ever had Kool-Aid, you know it stains," Kurt replied stubbornly. "And no, I'm not responsible for this."

"I don't see how you would be," said Scott, who was also red. "There's no way you could tamper with every single showerhead before gym class. Not unless you broke into the school beforehand."

Scott looked pointedly at Remy.

"What?" Remy asked, noting the suspicious glare even through Scott's glasses (didn't he ever take those things off?).

"Well, you do seem to be able to sneak into all sorts of places," Scott pointed out.

"So, let me get this straight, basically you're saying you think I broke into the school, bypassing all the locks and the alarms, just so I could put Kool-Aid, or food colouring, or whatever the hell it is, into the showerheads," Remy said dubiously. "Umm, how about we go with the more likely explanation."

"Which is?" Scott demanded.

"The other half of the school was the last ones to use the locker room," Remy replied with a nod. "They had plenty of time to tamper with the showerheads without any need to get past school security. It's actually pretty devious, now that I think about it. They probably expected us to turn on each other."

"Enough!" Logan said before anyone could respond, then pulled out his phone from his pocket.

"I thought we weren't allowed to have phones at school," Pietro said innocently.

Logan gave him a withering look then his expression softened as his call was answered on the other end.

"Yeah, we have a situation, 'Ro. I need to you check in on the girls in the locker room. If the situation there is the same as the boys then they've all been dyed different colours in the shower."

* * *

An impromptu assembly was called over lunch during which Professor Xavier informed everyone that this kind of prank would not be tolerated.

"In fact, there's a number of you who have gone far too far with the pranks these last couple of years," he went on. "I don't normally mind, but when you start walking into criminal territory, you've gone too far."

He went on to say that he expected this to be the final prank. He also said that they wouldn't be punishing anyone.

"We have no way to determine who the culprits are unless they confess," Professor Xavier said. "Therefore, we either give all of you detention, or none of you. Since your exams are just next week, I'm reluctant to penalise the innocent just to get the guilty, so you shall all be let off, just this once. Should anything like this happen again..."

The students were all very much relieved that they weren't going to get into trouble over it. Once that concern was out of the way they were able to relax, just a little. Not that they weren't still annoyed about being dyed different colours, though some of them were able to enjoy it.

"You look like a gold statue or something," Kitty (who was blue) said thoughtfully to Piotr.

"Heh," Jean said with a grin. "If we stripped him of most of his clothes he could pass for an ancient bronze statue. The Colossus of Rhodes, maybe. You look like a Colossus."

Kitty giggled and Piotr busied himself with his lunch.

"I think I lucked out," Marie mused, inspecting the red colouring that had been added to her hair. "If it hadn't affected my skin too, this would actually look good on me."

"I wish I lucked out," said Jean, holding out her yellow-stained skin. "I look like I'm sick."

"You look like you're on fire," Kitty informed her, "especially with your red hair."

"That makes me feel so much better."

Marie chuckled. While her X-Men friends continued to chat about their new colour jobs, Marie glanced over at the Brotherhood table. John was orange, Wanda was red, and either by coincidence or design, Remy had put green Kool-Aid in Lorna's showerhead. Her hair was now greener than the pool water had ever made it.

She originally had some misgivings about helping Remy, especially in the light of her father's advice not to let him drag her down with him. Marie also remembered what Logan had said about bachelor parties and she knew that Bella Donna was due soon, sometime during the exams as a matter of fact. The way Remy talked about what he wanted to do, Marie got the impression that this was more of his "bachelor party prank" than simple revenge, perhaps a perfect combination of both, so she agreed to help.

Her eyes caught Remy's for just a moment. Soon he'd be getting a call from home telling him his fiancée was having the baby and Ororo would fly him down to New Orleans. Soon he would be a father.

* * *

'Soon' didn't arrive during the exams at all. In fact 'soon' appeared to be running late. Jean-Luc assured Remy that everything was okay and sometimes first babies did come late. Remy blanched at the use of the word "first".

After exams were over, the school prepared for their trip to the Savage Land to have their game of Capture the Flag. Permission from parents had long-since been acquired and gym class had switched from baseball to shooting practise with their paintball guns.

The night before they were due to fly out to the Savage Land was Prom night. Like the year before a trip downtown was organised for those who wanted to get their hair done professionally and other such details. A photographer took pictures of everyone as they arrived to the hall for the dance.

Remy looked around the decorated hall feeling a little sad. This was it. The last dance. With only Capture the Flag and Graduation Day to go, the school year was pretty much over. He touched the breast pocket of his blazer, feeling his smartphone tucked away in there, knowing he could get a call at any moment. Times like this he felt like the walls were closing in on him.

The hall filled with students dressed in their best and shortly couples started taking to the dance floor. Jean and Scott, Remy and Cecilia were amongst the first, Remy deciding he was going to do his usual thing of dancing with all the girls.

After his dance with Cecilia concluded, Remy took Lorna out onto the dance floor and whirled her around nice and fast to the beat. Lorna was laughing and breathless at the conclusion but at least Mr Lehnsherr had no cause to object about him getting too close or something. There was a tap on his shoulder though and as Remy turned he was much surprised to see Alex standing there looking rather uncomfortable in his suit.

"May I cut in?" Alex asked. He tried to keep the nerves out of his voice but ended up sounding more pompous than confident as a result.

Remy grinned at him and relinquished his hold on Lorna.

"By all means," Remy said and turned his attention briefly back to Lorna. "Merci for the dance, ma petite."

Lorna giggled, biting her bottom lip as Remy left the dance floor and then she smiled at Alex. Alex looked back at her pensively.

"Shall we?" he asked.

"Sure," she replied.

As Lorna and Alex danced, Remy headed for Claire. He felt a growing urge to keep busy, keep moving. As long as he did that he could pretend like this was any other dance, any other year... that his life wasn't about to come crashing to a halt.

Midway through the evening, Professor Xavier called for everyone's attention to announce this year's Prom King and Queen. It was of no surprise to anyone that Jean got voted Queen again and Remy was announced the King (he still couldn't figure out why that kept happening). The coronation was followed with a dance and Remy who was trying not to feel completely stupid wearing the crown on his head.

"I wonder who's going to take your place as Queen next year," Remy said slyly to Jean as they danced. "You've been monopolising the position for two years now."

"Three," Jean corrected. "I was Prom Queen in sophomore year too, but not Homecoming."

"Oh yeah, that's right," Remy mused. "Forgot that."

"You were probably too busy sucking face with someone," Jean replied, smirking.

"Probably," Remy said with a glint of mischief in his eye.

"By the way, you kiss me again after this dance and I will slap you."

"Duly noted."

After his dance with Jean concluded, Remy sought out Marie. He'd pretty much danced with all the other girls already, including a quick spin with Ms Frost. She would have no grounds to object... he hoped.

"Rogue?" he said as he approached her, holding out one hand. "Would you dance with me?"

He hated the hesitant look on her face as she looked at his hand.

"One last dance?" he added.

Marie let out a short breath and nodded, accepting his hand.

"Once last dance," she confirmed.

He drew her out onto the dance floor as the beat of the music slowed down. He wrapped her up in his arms wishing they could be like this forever. He loved to hold her, to breathe her scent, to feel her hands on him. Why did things have to be this way?

It was with a great deal of reluctance that Remy pulled away after the song ended. Not willing to let her go just yet, Remy kept hold of her hand and walked with her off the dance floor to where Wanda and John were sitting. He opened his mouth to greet them when there was a buzzing and vibrating sensation against his chest and the faint strands of _The Imperial March_ could be just heard over the music. Remy paled and answered his phone, sticking one finger in his opposite ear, not needing to look at the screen to know who it was.

"Hi Poppa," he said.

"Bella Donna's gone into labour," Jean-Luc informed him. "You need to—"

"What no 'hi, how you doing'?" Remy asked, a sinking feeling filling his stomach.

"We can catch up when you get here," Jean-Luc replied tersely in his not-in-the-mood-for-this voice. "Please inform Ms Monroe and call me back with your ETA so we can meet you at the airport."

Jean-Luc hung up without another word and Remy put his phone back in his pocket feeling the eyes of his friends upon him. He couldn't look at them, he just couldn't. Instead he turned and lifted his head, scanning the room for Ororo. He spotted her off to the side with Logan and hurried off towards her. Not wanting to be overheard if he could avoid it, Remy waited until he got close before he said anything.

"Excuse me, Ms Monroe," Remy said, cutting into her conversation and looking at no one but Ororo. "Mon père called. The..." he swallowed, finding it hard to say it out loud, "the baby's coming."

Ororo paused, looking back at Remy. Of course the baby would choose to come now. Well, she supposed it was better now than while they were in the Savage Land.

"Alright," she said. "Grab your bag and meet me at the hanger. I will inform the Professor."

"I can do that," Logan offered.

"Thank you, Logan," Ororo replied with a nod.

* * *

**Continue **onto **JayCee's RedGold's** _Gym Class Anti-Heroes_ – Chapter 17


	41. Cupid's Chokehold!

**Chapter 41: ****Cupid's Chokehold!**

Having been the victim of Hollywood's version of childbirth Remy was a little surprised the baby wasn't already born when he arrived at the hospital. He wisely didn't comment on this, knowing if he said anything someone was going to ask him if he actually read the book Henri gave him. He had, he just skipped through all the pregnancy and childbirth stuff since he figured he wasn't actually going to be there for that part.

Instead, Remy found himself trading places with Marius at Bella Donna's side in her private room in the hospital while they waited for her to get through the first stage of labour. He started to wish he'd actually read that part of the book.

While Remy was busy getting his life lesson, the students of Xavier's had a good night's sleep and in the morning they gathered up their bags and boarded the military planes that would take them to the Savage Land. The training ground was actually a small island which showed no sign of human habitation except for the small military installation at one end. Upon landing the students were split up into X-Men and Brotherhood then given a brief tour of the facilities as well as being showed the barracks where they dropped their things off.

One of the things Logan always appreciated about Xavier's was that certain classes were compulsory, despite being optional in most schools. Professor Xavier was quite firm about his students being well-rounded and being able to cook, sew, perform basic car maintenance, read maps and use a compass was right up there with maths and English. They would definitely need to know how to use a map and compass for the game ahead.

"Alright kids," Logan addressed his students after the tour was over. "This is a map of the island."

He gestured to the map on the wall in the meeting room they had gathered in.

"I'd take you on a tour of this but we've found out Fury decided to make things interesting for you by putting in some paintball traps," Logan said dryly. "So you'll be going in blind."

He went on to show them where on the map theirs and the Brotherhood's flags would be. He also went over the rules, emphasising the things that had been changed or added due to their change of location from previous years. Finally, he stayed quiet while the full X-Men team conferred over strategy. If asked a question directly, Logan would answer, but otherwise he kept his input to a minimum. This was a task for the students to win on their own merits, not his.

Scott more or less took charge of the meeting once Logan stepped back. After studying the map to determine what kind of terrain they were dealing with, he started to figure out the best plan of attack and the best way to defend their own flag.

"Okay, here's what we're going to do," he declared, his voice cutting through the chatter (most of which has dissolved into things not related to the task at hand.)

Scott's spur-of-the-moment plans did have a few holes in them, some arguments broke out about what the map was actually saying about the terrain (those where the moments where they ended up stopping to inquire of Logan), but in the end the meeting was surprisingly productive and Scott was eager to find out if their strategising would pay off.

Meanwhile, the Brotherhood's meeting had splintered off into smaller groups. The intent had been that each of these smaller groups would be their own little squad and would work out their own strategies for the game. In reality, very few of them even bothered.

"Come on," Wanda insisted with a frown. "We need to figure this out."

"Ugh," Tabitha objected. "All this strategy stuff is giving me a headache."

Wanda sighed. "If you guys put in as much effort into this as you did in playing pranks..."

"Heh," John snickered. "I wonder what Remy's doing right about now?"

* * *

After having the audacity to go the toilet then stop for a coffee and a bite to eat, Remy returned to the maternity ward to discover Bella Donna had finally moved onto stage two. Unable to go in (and not all that willing to anyway), Remy sat in the waiting room with Jean-Luc and Marius.

A short time later, Tante Mattie, Julien, and Gris Gris arrived. Julien barely looked at Remy but Gris Gris gave him a two-fingered salute while Tante Matte greeted him warmly. Remy was pretty sure Tante Mattie asked him about school but his mind was so caught up with the labour that he didn't really remember the conversation.

Remy hadn't been this nervous and terrified in his life, or at least not since that fateful day when Jean-Luc adopted him off the street. Now it was his turn to take on the role of father, and frankly, with the way this whole childbirth thing was going, Remy was amazed there was even still a human race. Bella Donna had been in labour for a ridiculously long time in his opinion. Surely it wasn't supposed to take this long?

Finally, a nurse entered the waiting room with baby wrapped in a pale blue blanket. She looked around at those seated—four white men, one black woman, one black man—and walked over to Gris Gris.

"You must be Remy," she said. "Would you like to meet your son?"

"No," Gris Gris said, shaking his head in confusion as he pointed. "He's Remy."

"Oh..." the nurse replied, her eyes going wide in embarrassment as she chewed her lip in confusion.

As she turned towards Remy everyone got a better look at the baby in her arms. The boy was cute, a tuft of dark hair on his head, eyes scrunched up against the lights. Like all newborns he was born with soft skin, his that beautiful shade of mocha brown...

Julien was the first to react: by laughing. He clapped his friend on the shoulder with utter delight.

"Please tell me you banged my sister," he said.

"Well, there's something I never thought I'd hear you say," Remy said the same time that Marius turned his gaze on Gris Gris and said his name with a growl in his voice.

"Uhh, on second thought," Gris Gris said, sensing the wrath of his Guild patriarch upon him, "I'd love to hold the baby."

"Good plan," Remy said, a big grin on his face as the nurse transferred the baby to Gris Gris' arms, "he'd never hurt you while you're holding his grandson."

"Remy," Jean-Luc said tersely before turning his attention to Marius. "I think some renegotiation is in order here—"

"Not so fast, LeBeau," Marius retorted hotly, pointing his finger at Remy. "We don't know the baby isn't Remy's."

"Oh please," Remy said scornfully. "If the baby's mine... I'll eat my glasses."

"You were adopted," Marius pointed out, "and you have a genetic defect. For all we know, you were supposed to have black skin instead of black eyes."

Remy opened his mouth to reply that they did know his skin hadn't been effected by his genetic defect but Jean-Luc cut him off before he could get a word out.

"Naturally, I will agree to a DNA test," Jean-Luc said, gently, but firmly. "However, in the event Remy is proven not to be the father, I must insist on calling off the wedding. It would not be fair to Remy to make him raise another man's child and the baby's true father should be given the first opportunity to be a parent to his son."

"Agreed," Marius replied stiffly.

"We will just have to come up with some other way to cement peace between our Guilds," Jean-Luc added.

Remy understood then. Marius was smart enough to realise that the baby wasn't really his either, he was just buying himself time, politically speaking. By "cheating" Bella Donna, and by extension the Assassins Guild, would been seen as breaking their bargain with the Thieves Guild, thus sacrificing their equal standing and giving the Thieves power over them.

"Alright you two," Tante Mattie said. "You've had your alpha male moment. Now, let me see the baby."

Remy watched as conversation moved to looking over the baby until the nurse took him away again. He didn't think he'd ever had so many mixed feelings in his life: relief, disappointment, fear, worry, joy, hopefulness, release, and confinement. The wedding would be called off, he was sure of it, just as sure he was that Gris Gris was the baby's father.

He wasn't sure what to do with that.

For the last seven years he'd been preparing for a life that he was now never going to have.

He really wasn't sure what to make of it.

* * *

A few hours later, Remy was in the Blackbird flying to the Savage Land with Ororo. She had stayed in New Orleans as the plan had been for him to go back to the school once the baby was born for graduation. Before they left, Remy gave the obligatory DNA sample and got to have some time alone with Bella Donna. Tante Mattie was most insistent they have a private chat.

"It's not good to leave these things hanging. It'll be at least a week before they see each other again!"

Their talk started out a little awkward with neither party knowing how to address the elephant in the room. Finally, Bella Donna quietly admitted she had considered the idea Gris Gris might be the real father.

"The timing was right... I just... I don't know. I didn't want to think about it," she had said. "I mean, I love Gris Gris but the consequences of having his baby when it was supposed to be yours..."

So desperate she had been to believe that when she had been reading a pregnancy books after the announcement, she discovered she'd gotten a little confused; it was ovum that had the longevity, not the sperm. Rather than admit her mistake and face the more likely possibility that the baby was Gris Gris', she had declared the book to be faulty, threw it away, and then deliberately skipped the section on conception in the next book.

"Is everyone mad?" she asked. There would be hell to pay. She was sure of it.

"Well, I think your dad's angry but Julien's happy as a clam," Remy told her.

"Of course he is."

"And the wedding's off, pending the result of the DNA test—"

"DNA test?" Bella Donna repeated with a glance over at her beautiful baby boy in the bassinet who she wouldn't change a thing about for all the world. "Seriously?"

"Dotting i's, crossing t's," Remy said with a grin.

Bella Donna grunted. "What about you?"

Remy didn't reply at first, then shrugged. "Honestly? I have no idea. I do know this much: you and I have always been friends from the day we met, I don't think that this is going to change that."

He meant every word of it. Bella Donna Boudreaux had been a part of his life for so long now he really couldn't imagine his life without her, although he definitely preferred the idea of having her as a friend rather than a wife.

"There it is," Ororo said with a nod to the expanse of land growing in the distance, "the Savage Land."

Remy nodded, then paused and eyed Ororo with interest. "How come you know the location of a military training base? I didn't think you were ever in the military."

"I know how to fly one of their planes, do I not?" And that cryptic remark was all the response Remy figured he was likely to get.

In due course, they landed, but by that point it was quite late. They stopped for a quick supper then Remy was shown to the barracks where his fellow Brothers were staying. With his knack for stealth, Remy managed to sneak in without waking anyone. He then found a spare bunk and went to sleep.

* * *

"...and then we wake up, bright and early to that accused bugle," John said to the Sisters over breakfast the next morning, "and discover Remy's here."

Remy grinned at him. "Please, you guys were sleeping like babies. It was easy."

"Speaking of babies," Wanda said, latching onto the word like a cue as she leaned on the table towards him. "How's your baby?"

"Don't know," Remy replied slyly. "Don't have one."

"What do you mean, you don't have one?" Wanda asked with a frown. "Wasn't that the whole point of you going to New Orleans?" her features gained a shade of horror, "Something bad didn't happen, with the birth?"

Remy hesitated briefly as he hadn't actually anticipated mentioning this straight away but... well, he should get it over with.

"Oh, Belle had the baby yesterday. Both are quite happy and healthy," Remy said, "he's just not mine."

"The baby's only a day old," Wanda's face was now scrunched in confusion, "how can you possibly tell?"

"He inherited a very distinctive genetic trait from his father," Remy replied, grinning.

"Hah, sucked in," Joanna said, smirking. "You got cheated on."

"What a whore," Lance said.

"Hey," Remy objected, glaring at Lance. "You do not get to call my best friend a whore. We both agreed it was okay to sleep with other people, so it's not cheating, Joanna." Remy gave Joanna a pointed look before turning his attention back to Lance. "And I had a lot more partners than she did, so if anyone's the whore, it's me. If I ever hear you insult Belle again you'll be answering to my fist. Got it?"

The table fell silent while everyone looked at Lance. Lance looked back at Remy in some surprise having not expected that reaction at all.

"Got it," he said.

"Good," Remy said, then leaned back in his chair. "And in other good news, pending the results of the DNA test—which we consider to be nothing more than a formality at this point—the wedding's off. I am a free man."

Remy proceeded to do a little happy dance in his chair while some of his teammates offered their various forms of congratulations.

"Does Marie know yet?" Wanda asked.

Remy shook his head.

"Got in too late last night. I haven't seen her," he said.

But the question brought to Remy a wonderful realisation: he could finally ask her to be his girlfriend.

* * *

As the X-Men and Brotherhood were being kept separate, they only saw the other team once before the game was to begin. This was to go over the rules one final time and for the coaches to hand out maps and compasses. So while the X-Men became instantly aware Remy had joined them, none of them had a chance to inquire before they were all taken to their home bases.

On the way to their home base, Remy was given a quick crash course on what little had been decided and to make sure he knew everything not already repeated that morning. Some people might have hated being thrown into the deep end with very little time to prepare. Not Remy. Having a plan had its place but he thought flying by the edge of his seat was way more fun.

Upon their arrival, Scott realised things were not quite as he had imagined from the map. There were a lot more trees then he was expecting, except over the little hill where their flag was, which didn't have any. Undeterred, Scott modified their plans and the X-Men got ready for the signal to start.

After what felt like forever from the anticipation, they finally got the signal. The designated defenders stayed at their home base—in the case of the Brotherhood that meant anyone who wasn't bothered going out into the woods—while everyone else headed out. Scott's plans sounded great in theory but in practice negotiating the unfamiliar terrain—with or without map and compass—was a pain in the butt. On top of that, there was much complaining about bugs and spider's webs and other such things from those in the group whose idea of a jungle involved concrete. This also led to loud complaining and less-than-stealthy movement through the trees, which only served to broadcast their locations to the groups who had the better sense to try and stay quiet.

"City slickers," Pietro said with a smirk as the group of X-Men he and his team just took out attempted to find their way back to home base where they would sit out the rest of the round. "Who needs 'em?"

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that," Remy replied as he checked the map.

"I can't believe they were complaining about spiders," John said disgustedly. "They have no grounds to complain until they find a nest of redbacks in the downstairs dunny and get bitten by half a dozen of the buggers."

"Redbacks?" Wanda queried.

"Teeny, tiny little spiders with red spots on their backs, hurts like a bitch when they bite you," John replied with a nod, thinking back on that particular nasty visit to his cousin's home in rural Australia. "Anti-venom is my friend. So we gonna capture a flag or what?"

The group fell silent except for when they needed to check direction and even then they kept things as quiet as possible. They were making fairly good progress until Pietro triggered a trap and ended up covered in purple paint.

"I think you're out," Remy said.

"Stupid landmines," Pietro muttered. "I forgot about those."

Irritated, Pietro took his leave from the group to head back to the homebase. Remy, Wanda, and John continued onwards.

Meanwhile, at the X-Men home base, Marie turned her paintball gun towards the sound of people heading in their direction. She saw a flash of movement, squeezed the trigger and—

"Ow! Hey!" Alison objected as she came into view, covered with blue paint as well as a shot of yellow. "You're not supposed to kill me. I'm on your side."

Marie looked bashful. "Sorry, Ally."

"Whatever."

Marie and the rest of the defensive team stayed on alert. Many times those who appeared were their fellow X-Men returning to sit out the rest of the round after having been shot or been caught in a landmine. Marie wished the flag was just a little further away from the base so that they would stop getting in the way. It was certainly very distracting, one that resulted in Remy, John, and Wanda being able to sneak up on the X-Men's defenders, take them out all at once, and grab the flag.

The tricky part for Remy, Wanda, and John was actually getting back to their own base without being caught by any of the X-Men attackers noticing them carrying their flag around. Remy and John decided to scout ahead while Wanda carried the flag. The boys managed to take out the X-Men they approached from behind as Wanda made a run for the base.

A siren sounded signalling the win and end of round one. Everyone returned to their respective bases, some taking longer than others. They had a break to eat, drink, go over their plans for the next round (those who could be bothered), exchange the last of their round one ammunition for the round two paintballs (they were a different colour), and generally relax.

For the next round, Scott decided they should wage an all-out attack and organised for most of the X-Men to storm the Brotherhood's base while a token resistance defended their own flag. The token resistance didn't end up doing all that much since the main force managed to cut off all those of the Brotherhood who attempted to get by them. The second round was over much faster.

"So, let's do it again," Sam said during their break.

"Nah, if they're smart, they'll just have everyone there as defenders," Scott said, "or they'll amass everyone and do the same to us."

"Key words being 'if they're smart'," Sam said with a smirk.

"This time, we're going to stick to defence and send in a guerrilla team instead. Kitty, Kurt," Scott paused, and almost as an afterthought added, "Rogue. You're it. You're going to have to sneak in, picking off any defenders one by one. Try to avoid any teams headed our way, we'll take care of them."

Their break came to an end and on the signal, Marie, Kitty, and Kurt took off, the three opting to take "the long way" to the Brotherhood's base. By now they were well aware of the importance of keeping as quiet as possible. They stayed low to the ground keeping an eye out for booby traps. A few times they noticed other people go by, but managed to avoid drawing their attention.

Finally the three made it to the Brotherhood's hill where their flag waved in the breeze. It appeared to be unprotected but the three knew this was deceptive: there had to be people hiding nearby. Staying low, Kitty went one way while Marie went the other. Kurt climbed up a nearby tree. There were enough branches and leaves he could see out without worrying someone would see him, besides, no one would be expecting the enemy would climb a tree.

While Kurt was aiming his paintball gun at Duncan, Kitty sneaked up behind Evan and shot him in the back. She slipped into the underbrush and Evan complained. Duncan then got hit by the paintball and complained too. This was shortly followed by a cry from Lila after Marie shot her.

A shot narrowly missed Kurt and he took that as meaning he'd been spotted, it was his cue to make himself scarce. He climbed up high, swung from tree to tree, and spotted Paul shooting Kitty. Swiftly, Kurt dropped down behind Paul and shot him. Paul whirled around.

"Hey," he objected. "Where'd you come from?"

Kurt grinned. Kitty sighed with irritation. Kurt cried out as a black paintball hit him in the shoulder.

"Oh rats," Kurt complained.

All fell silent. Kurt and Kitty waited very briefly, then started to head off back to base. Since there were no further shots heard, they assumed Marie was still safe.

Marie was and it was with much delight she took out Todd. This seemed to be her day for shooting guitarists. She waited in cover to hear if there was another defender. After a few minutes of listening to silence—or as close to silence as it could get in their locale—Marie decided it was safe and made her way onto the bare hill where the flag was.

"Rogue."

Marie whirled around to see Remy standing near a tree, his paintball gun pointed straight at her. She mentally cursed for not being more thorough before getting out into the open like this. Remy slowly lowered his gun to the ground.

"I need to tell you something," Remy said, stepping towards her. Sure this wasn't really the time for this but he was too impatient.

Marie eyed him suspiciously, but lowered the muzzle of her gun as well. "What?"

"Belle had the baby," he said, not entirely sure how to begin.

"I gathered that's what your abrupt trip to New Orleans was all about," she replied tersely.

Remy took a deep breath as he stepped up closer to her. "He's not mine."

"Come again?"

"Belle's baby isn't mine," Remy said, his heart beating loudly. "He's Gris Gris'. You remember Gris Gris, right?"

Marie nodded. "Wow, that must really suck for you."

"Wha—?"

"Having to marry Bella Donna and raise some other guy's kid."

"Oh, no, I don't have to worry about that," Remy said eagerly as he moved even closer to her. "The wedding's being called off."

"Oh," Marie replied, not really sure what to do with that. "Well, umm, congratulations then?"

"And there's something I really want to ask you," Remy said, taking her hands, letting Marie's gun drop to the ground. "Rogue, would you be my girlfriend?"

For a moment all time stood still. For a moment Remy was thrilled with excitement at finally being able to ask Marie that question. Finally having the chance to date someone—really date someone—and not have to worry about placating parents or fiancées or anything.

And for a moment, Marie really didn't know what to say.

"No."

Remy blinked. "What? No? What do you mean, no?"

He couldn't believe it. What was happening here? He was so sure she'd say 'yes'. He couldn't even begin to wrap his mind about his unexpected rejection.

"I mean no," Marie replied, letting go of his hands. "You're not ready."

"I... what? What do you mean I'm not ready?" Remy demanded, having some real trouble with being denied a romantic relationship with Marie again. "I'm more ready than I've ever been in my life! You have no idea how much I've wanted to be with you—"

Marie put her finger on his lips. "Remy, sugar, you've been engaged for what, seven years or something? I know it's nice having a partner but I don't think you've ever known what it's like to be single."

"But I don't want to be single," Remy insisted, taking her hand from his mouth. "I want to be with you."

"I know... but I really think you should take some time out to figure out who you are, you know, without being attached to someone who'll just try to mould you into who they think you should be. You're not locked into those big decisions you were always complaining you weren't being allowed to make for yourself," Marie replied. "Well? Now's your chance to make those decisions. You may want to spend some time figuring it out."

"But, I... I..." Remy stammered, realising repeating 'I want to be with you' wasn't going to get him anywhere even though he knew that's what he wanted. He tried another tact: "And just how long do you think I should be single for?"

"That's not for me to decide," Marie said, pulling her hands out of his once more.

"Yes it is," Remy said firmly, looking her right in the eye, "because I don't need to be single to know it's you I want to be with. So really, I'm just waiting for you to agree to go out with me."

Marie grinned. She hesitated for just a moment and then lifted up their helmets and kissed him. Remy wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tight against him, kissing her back feverishly. He missed this. He missed Marie. She kissed him so forcefully he actually had to move back a few paces.

Then something broke against his side, startling him enough to look. While Remy looked and saw orange paint on his protective clothing, Marie moved the other way and snatched the flag out of the ground.

"Wha—?"

Marie stopped long enough to grab her gun up off the ground, then ran off with the flag and a wicked giggle. Remy glared after her as she disappeared amongst the trees.

She played him!

She kissed him just so she could get him out with the paintball she'd obviously pulled out of one of the ammo pouches and then took off with the flag! The nerve of that sneaky woman!

Remy grinned. One day he'd have her. One day...

* * *

**Continue **onto** JayCee's RedGold's** _Gym Class Anti-Heroes_ – Chapter 18 but with one caveat. (Caveat? Using big words now?) (HOW DO YOU KEEP GETTING OUT OF THE BOX?!) (Oh shush and just tell them.)

Okay, well, there is only chapter of Chellerbelle's _Gym Class Heroes_ left and it's the Epilogue. You know what that means, everyone dies. (WHAT?!) Epilogues, by default, tend to wrap things up, for better or for worse... (Chellerbelle, would you stop giggling at that!?) (Sorry!) After reading _Anti-Hero_es' Chapter 18 you have a choice, you can come back here and read the Epilogue and totally spoil some of the fun stuff I have in store for _Anti-Heroes_ or you can continue reading _Anti-Heroes_ until it is finished and then come back here to see what Chellerbelle has in store for the future. (Seriously, Chellerbelle, Mr Sinister called, said he'd like his laugh back!) (I can't help it!)

Between Chellerbelle and I, we took these characters on a continued rollercoaster of fun (STOP LAUGHING MANICALLY!) (That's it, I'm taking this story back.) (No, Mine!) (Mine!) (MINE!) (MINE OR I'LL HUG YOU!)

(I hate you.)

Ahem. Chellerbelle here to say it's simple. Either finish reading _Anti-Heroes_ then come back here for the big finish (I promise to remind you!) OR go ahead and read my Epilogue and be spoiled. Your choice! Enjoy!

(This box is pretty small...) (Deal with it.)


	42. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Anna Marie looked around the decorated gymnasium with satisfaction. It had been ten years since she had graduated from the Xavier Institute and the room was filled with her former schoolmates and their partners. It wasn't just her year who was there, but also those from the years surrounding.

Amongst them were the teachers who were still working at the school: Ororo, Logan, Emma, Hank, and Erik. Professor Xavier had retired a couple of years ago and handed on the mantle to Ororo. Victor quit not long thereafter after having a few too many disagreements with the new headmistress and her husband. Anna Marie wasn't sure what her uncle was doing now.

"Rogue!"

Anna Marie turned at the sound of her brother's voice and grinned at him. Kurt smiled back and held out his arms for a hug with a little hesitant glance at her pregnant belly. Anna Marie chuckled and pulled him in.

"I won't break," she said teasingly. "How are you?"

"I'm good," Kurt replied, keeping the hug gentle nonetheless, "and yourself?"

"Good. Suffering from pregnancy-induced back pains and other fun delights, but otherwise good," Anna Marie said.

Kurt chuckled and released her from the hug just as Remy approached. He slid one hand around Anna Marie's waist and held the other out to Kurt.

"Hey, Kurt," he said. "Long time, no see."

"Indeed," Kurt agreed. "We should do something about that."

"Remy!"

Remy glanced over and grinned as John and Wanda approached. John grinned and held out his hand.

"Hey, Pyro," Remy said. "How did—"

He got no further. The moment Remy took John's hand, a shock went through his system. John released him and fell into mad laughter.

"Merde," Remy said, shaking off the shock of the joy buzzer strapped discreetly to John's hand. "You bastard."

Anna Marie slapped him upside the head. "Mind your language around the baby."

"Oh man," Kurt said, shaking his head as Remy looked at Rogue and then John in irritation. "Do you two still pull pranks?"

"Occasionally," Anna Marie told him. "But they usually pull them on other people rather than each other. Not nearly as often as they did in high school."

"I was in the mood to prank the X-Men," John said expansively. "You know, for old times sake. Oh, hi, Father Kurt."

John held out his hand with a big cheesy grin on his face. Kurt grinned back and didn't take the bait.

"Nice try," Kurt said, "but I already saw what you did to Remy."

John chuckled wickedly and took his hand back. Wanda shook her head.

"It's like we're married to children," Wanda said to Anna Marie.

"We had some good times with all those pranks, though," Remy said, thinking back fondly on all the pranks he'd pulled. "Hey, remember when we put powdered milk on the sheets and the X-Men reeked like sour milk for days?"

"That was good one," John agreed, nodding. "Oooh, what about the fake emergency drill? I still remember seeing all the little X-Boys standing out in the gym in their towels... pity the girls weren't around to catch an eyeful."

"That was embarrassing," Kurt said, and snapped his fingers. "What about the time we put the glitter traps in your lockers?"

"I thought Creed was going to have a heart attack," Remy said. "You got us detention for that."

"Yeah, well, you guys got all the male boarders detention for that smoke bomb prank right at the beginning," Kurt pointed out.

"We did not do the smoke bomb prank," Remy insisted.

"Uh huh."

"There's no point, Remy," John said, shaking his head. "Everyone still thinks we did that. There'll be no convincing them."

"Wait," Kurt said switching his gaze between Remy and John. "You two seriously didn't do that?"

"We seriously didn't do it," Remy said, looking Kurt right in the eye. "We pulled a lot of pranks while we were here and I will freely and smugly admit to all of them now that I'm no longer in danger of getting detention. Especially the last one where I put Kool-aid in all the showerheads and dyed y'all pretty colours."

"I knew it!" Wanda exclaimed.

Anna Marie giggled behind her hand.

"So that was you," Kurt said. "I wondered about that."

"Read my lips," Remy went on, "I did not do the smoke bombs."

"And neither did I," John added.

"I believe you," Kurt said, finding that he genuinely did, "but if you didn't, then who did?"

"I don't know but we weren't the only ones pulling pranks," Remy said and snapped his fingers. "Hey remember the time we strung up all the X-Men's bedrooms?"

"That was so worth it," John said gleefully.

Their reminiscing was interrupted by the arrival of Scott and Jean. Jean's face lit up at the sight of the only other pregnant woman in the room and tugged her husband over to join them.

"Rogue," she exclaimed. "You look great!"

"Thank you," Anna Marie replied with a grin. "You look pretty good yourself."

"And what's this?" Jean said, taking Anna Marie's hand. She glanced at Remy's left hand to find a matching wedding ring. "Did you two finally tie the knot?"

"Yes, we finally tied the knot," Remy replied, smirking as he slid his hand back around Anna Marie's waist. "And yes, we have heard variations of that question multiple times around."

"Well, come on," Jean said. "You two have only been on and off for years."

"Shotgun wedding?" Scott asked cheekily.

"Scott," Jean admonished, jabbing him in the side with her elbow.

"No," Anna Marie replied with dignity, "and it wasn't a Vegas wedding either. It was a very classy wedding and our baby was conceived after the fact, thank you very much."

"I see you're still wearing the glasses everywhere, Cyclops," Remy said, indicated the red tinted, single-lens sunglasses he was wearing. "Let me guess, you just decided to take up optometry just so you could get a discount, right?"

"Sure, that's exactly what happened," Scott replied cynically.

"So," Jean said, turning her attention to Wanda and John. "What about you two? Expecting yet?"

"No," Wanda replied coolly. She was so tired of people asking her that.

John spotted a grin appear on Remy's face.

"Shut up, Remy," he said.

Remy held up his hands. "Didn't say a word."

"But you were going to," John said. "You know, some of us want to actually enjoy the benefits of married life before any kids come along."

"And without any unnecessary drama," Wanda added with a pointed look at Remy.

"Who, me?" Remy asked innocently. "So, your drama was completely necessary then?"

"Yes," Wanda said.

"So how are the Drs Scott and Jean Summers-Grey, anyway?" John asked, holding out his hand towards Scott.

"We're well, thank..." and like Remy before him, Scott got no further, for the moment his hand touched John's he got zapped by the joy buzzer. John burst into laughter again, as did Kurt, Wanda, Remy, and Anna Marie, who all saw it coming.

"Oh come on, no," Jean said, shaking her head. "Aren't we a little old for this?"

"Growing old is mandatory. Growing up is optional," John replied, grinning broadly.

"Uh huh, so what is it that you do these days, anyway?" Jean asked with a raised eyebrow. "Work in a toy store?"

"Gothic Romance novelist," John stated smugly.

"You're joking," she laughed.

"I just finished off a book tour promoting my latest novel _House of Mavendor – Book Two: The Fires of Branskil_."

"Wait," she look at him curiously, "I've read _Book One: The Scarlet Witch_, it was amazing and written by Josephine Martyr."

"Josephine Martyr, Saint John," he grinned widely.

"Okay," Jean blinked, "I did not see that one coming."

"Really?" Pietro drawled as he walked up from behind John and Wanda. "Titles like _The Scarlet Witch_ and _The Fires of Branskil_ and you didn't see it coming?"

"Pietro," Wanda began with a sigh, then smiled warmly at Scott. "You were asking about shotgun weddings?" She pointed her thumb at Pietro.

"It was not a shotgun wedding," Pietro said stubbornly. "Luna was premature."

"Uh huh, yeah sure."

"She was!"

"Whatever you have to tell yourself, brother-dear," Wanda replied. "And how's the divorce coming?"

"Oh no," said Jean. "You're getting divorced? I'm so sorry, Pietro."

Pietro shrugged. "We're only separated at the moment."

"And the sooner we're rid of that inhuman creature, the better," Wanda said decisively.

"Hey!" Pietro objected.

"Ahem, so," Scott cut in and looking at Pietro. "Just what is it you're doing these days, anyway?"

"I'm planning on starting my own fitness centre," Pietro replied. "I've got the place picked out, a couple of financial backers lined up, some friends who are interested in joining me. I just have to—"

"Wait until the divorce goes through so that Crystal can't claim half," Wanda cut in slyly.

"Shut up," Pietro snapped at her irritably.

"Almost makes me wish I'd become a divorce lawyer instead of a criminal lawyer," Wanda went on cheerfully.

"Maybe you should have," said Anna Marie cheekily, "then all the money would have stayed in the family."

Wanda laughed.

"Where do you work?" Scott asked Wanda with interest.

"I'm a full partner of Murdock and Nelson," Wanda replied, and fished out a business card from her bag. "Here, have my card."

"She loves doing that," John said to the others with a gleam in his eye.

The conversation was interrupted by Ororo calling for everyone's attention and welcoming them to the reunion. On the stage behind her some instruments had been set up but there was no sign of the band.

"If you would all like to take your seats," she said, "the entree will be served shortly."

"How long has Ms Monroe been headmistress now?" Scott asked as the group headed for the tables. "Or is it Mrs Howlett now?"

"Three years," Anna Marie replied, "and she's still Ms Monroe professionally, she's Mrs Howlett personally. She thinks it's better for families to have the same lastname, especially when kids are involved."

"Are there kids involved?" Jean asked curiously.

"Oh yeah," Anna Marie said wryly. "They have a four year old daughter, Kendall."

"Wow, really?" Scott asked with a glance towards Ororo.

"Ororo wanted kids."

"But at their age?"

"They're not that old, geez," Anna Marie said, pulling out a chair at an empty table. "Besides, what do you care? They're my family."

"Ooh, let's go sit with Warren and Candy," Jean said, taking Scott's arm before he could respond and pointing at a nearby table. "It was nice talking with you guys."

"You too," said Kurt. "Ahh, I might go join Bobby and Jamie. We'll catch up again later."

"We shall," Anna Marie agreed.

"You're taking this whole Kendell business rather well, Marie," Wanda said as she sat down at the table with Anna Marie, Remy, and John, "though I guess I'm just glad it wasn't my father who decided to remarry and procreate again."

"You never know," Remy said teasingly. "Men remain fertile way longer than women and we have things like Viagra now so—"

"Hate. You. So. Much," Wanda said, giving him a dark glare.

"Bad images, chère?" Remy asked.

"Speaking of half-siblings," Anna Marie said, staring across the room. "Is that Lorna with the green hair?"

"Yep," Wanda replied without even having to look behind her where Lorna and Alex sat down with their group of friends. "I think she thought the green Kool-Aid dye job looked good on her. Go figure."

As soon as everyone was seated, the servers came around with the entrees for everyone.

"So, Callisto," David said with a slight smirk on his face as the server set his plate down in front of him. "Nice eye patch."

Callisto smirked at him. That accident in baseball her final year had caused permanent damage.

"I know," she said, "that's what everyone says."

"It does make you look badass," said Jason.

"It makes you look like a pirate," said Andrea, who had come with her husband, Jan. "Why don't you get a glass eye?"

"I do have one," Callisto replied. "But the eye patch gives me that 'you do not want to mess with me' air."

"But I do," Jason said, smiling coyly at her. "I do want to mess with you."

"Uh huh. No thanks, douche bag," Callisto replied. "I know all about your daughters."

Jason's smile faded every so slightly.

"Daughters?" inquires Andreas.

"Three of them," Callisto said, with a nice big smirk in Jason's direction, "to three different women."

"How would you know?" Jason asked tersely.

"I'm friends with one of them."

"You have friends? I'm shocked."

"Yeah," said Cameron. "You'd think the eye patch would scare them off."

"Sooo Cameron," Andrea said. "How is your little rivalry with Warren going?"

Cameron shook his head. "Don't even get me started. It was just business. It's ridiculous the way things blew out of proportion."

"Uh huh," Andreas said with a smirk. "So what's this I heard about allegations of attempts of industrial sabotage?"

"Obviously Warren is trying to frame me."

"Obviously."

After the entree, a few people got up to mingle with others. Amongst them was Kurt, Remy, and John, who all decided to head over to the table where Lance, Pietro. Todd, Fred, and Tabitha were sitting.

"Hey Kurt," Lance said upon seeing him. "Heard you got into the priesthood."

Kurt gave a nod. "That's right."

"Molested any alter boys recently?"

Tabitha covered her mouth with her hand and snickered. The rest of the table weren't nearly so polite. Remy and John shared a look.

"No," Kurt replied patiently, "and contrary to popular opinion, there are no more child molesters in the priesthood than there are in any other industry. We just get the flack for it because it's been handled badly in the past."

"Heh, handled badly," Lance repeated with a smirk.

Kurt just shook his head..

"Hey nice to see you guys again," John grinned and held out his hand to Lance. "How you doing, Lance?"

Lance lifted his hand to shake John's.

"I'm goo—" and that was as far as he got before the joy buzzer zapped him. John and Remy laughed.

"Trust you two to bring pranks to the reunion," Tabitha said, grinning at John and Remy.

"I suppose we should have seen it coming," said Todd. "Man, those were a crazy couple of years. Hey remember when we rearranged all the furniture?"

"I remember Pyro and I pulling most of the pranks," said Remy, "and only bringing you guys in when we needed an extra set of hands."

"Just not creative enough to think of their own pranks," John said, shaking his head in mock disgust.

"Hey, I'm plenty creative," Todd said. "I'm just musically creative."

"That's right, you're in a band now, aren't you?" Kurt asked, and when Todd nodded Kurt looked at Tabitha. "And you have that talk show with Jubilee."

"Yep," Tabitha said smugly. "You've seen it?"

"Afraid not."

Tabitha mock-gasped loudly, "You must see it! We're awesome. We'll rock your socks off."

"Jubilee told me the same thing," Kurt replied with a grin. "What about the rest of you? What are you doing now?"

"Seismologist," said Lance.

"I've just opened up a restaurant," Fred said smugly, "and I may be getting my own cooking show."

"Hey cool," said Remy.

"Thanks. What about you?"

"Security consultant," Remy replied. "I go over existing security systems and point out all the holes in them."

His family wasn't all that happy about his choice of career. A couple of his cousins were particularly annoyed about him "deliberately trying to make stealing harder" for them and called him a traitor. Remy wasn't really all that worried about it. There were plenty of places the Guild members could still break into—way more than would ever become clients of his. He was happy in his work: He got paid to break into places without any of the legal hassle that usually came with it.

"Oh yeah? How does that go for you?" asked Lance.

"Well, thanks to me," Remy said smugly, "one of Warren's industrial sites was saved from a sabotage attempt that would not have been averted otherwise."

In fact, Warren had been so thrilled (if annoyed that someone had tried to sabotage him in the first place) that he had recommended Remy to just about all his friends. Remy had gotten in a lot of work through that particular incident.

"I think I heard about that," Tabitha said thoughtfully. "Wasn't Cameron behind it?"

Remy shrugged. "That's what I heard. Might be something to it. Worthington Industries and Hodge Enterprises haven't been on good terms since."

"Did Cameron hire you to sabotage-proof his place?" Fred asked curiously.

"Afraid I can't say," Remy replied, patting his chest, "client confidentiality and all that. Warren I can mention because he's previously given me leave, but otherwise..."

They chatted a little longer, and then their conversation was brought to an end by the announcement that dinner would be served shortly. Remy and John decided to head back to their own table via Kurt's, mostly so John could use the joy buzzer on at least one of the former X-Men sitting at the table.

"Bobby, my man, well, sort of man," John said, holding out his hand, "long time, no see."

"Uh sure," Bobby replied.

He took John's hand and promptly cried out as he was shocked by the buzzer. John snickered.

"Is this going to be a thing?" asked Jubilee. "Are we going to have to watch out for pranks every time you guys show up?"

"Maybe," John replied and spotted Jamie returning to the table. He put out his hand. "Jamie! It's been so long. How are you, mate?"

"Good," Jamie replied.

Before anyone could—or would—warn Jamie, he took John's outstretched hand and was zapped by the joy buzzer. Jamie yelled and pulled his hand back.

"Dude! Seriously," Jamie objected as John and Remy laughed.

"You're just annoyed 'cause you didn't come prepared with a prank," John replied with a grin.

"Some of us have outgrown such immaturity," Jamie replied haughtily.

"Not you, though," Remy said with a smirk. "You decided you wanted to keep playing pretend for the rest of your life."

"I think it would be more accurate to say that I couldn't decide what career I wanted to do after I finished school, so I decided to do all of them," Jamie said, grinning, "and you're just jealous of my mad acting skills."

"No, no I'm really not."

"Are these the guys you got into a prank war with that you were telling me about?" asked the dark-haired girl next to Bobby.

"Yep," Bobby replied. "Remy and Pyro. Pyro's the one with the shocking hand."

John chuckled.

"And you are?" Remy asked the young woman.

"Opal," she replied. "Bobby's girlfriend."

"You poor thing."

"Mmhmm," Opal responded, giving him a cynical look.

"Man that prank war was fun," said Jamie, finally taking his seat. "Hey remember the time we put jelly beans in the shower heads? Or the time we filled your bathrooms with balloons?"

"Remember the time we put heat rub in your socks?" Remy asked. "Or the time we gave you those caramels with hot sauce in 'em."

"Oh I remember those!" John said. "We should make them again. They were delicious."

"Dude, how do you still have taste buds?" asked Bobby.

"Oooh," said Jamie. "What about the time we switched your uniforms around?

"Yeah. What about the time you tried blowing talcum powder into my room and it ended up all over your faces instead?" Remy asked, grinning.

Jamie pulled a face. "I swear, Pete and I were still getting powder out of our hair for days afterwards."

Kurt chuckled.

"You were so good at making those pranks backfire," Bobby said disgustedly "Hey, what about the time we put a snowman in your bedroom."

Remy smiled sweetly. "Yeah, I remember that. That's when you decided to go through my things and pry into business that wasn't yours, and then go around blabbing my personal business to everyone."

Bobby paused. "Oh yeah. I forgot all about that pregnancy thing. Didn't the kid turn out not to be yours or something?"

"Yeah," Remy said, "but again, not your business."

He and Bella Donna were still friends, although he didn't really see her all that much anymore, their lives kept them busy. On the bright side their respective Guilds had managed to remain on peaceful terms even though their arranged marriage got called off. Enough cross-guild friends had been made during the time of their treaty that only a few troublemakers like Julien were interested in restarting the war.

"In fact, you're lucky all I did was change the language on your phones to Japanese," Remy went on.

"You bastard," Bobby said pointing a finger at him."You did do that!"

Remy chuckled wickedly.

"Ah, Remy," John said, tapping him on the shoulder. "Food is coming. We should go sit."

Remy glanced up and noted the servers going around. "Right. Later guys."

Lorna watched as Remy and John departed, and then sighed dramatically and nudged Opal.

"Remy was such a total hunk in high school," she told her. "I think we all had crushes on him."

"Hey," Alex objected, pulling a face at his wife.

"What? It's not like you didn't know. Besides, it doesn't really matter anyway," Lorna said and turned her attention back to Opal and the rest of the group, "he's always been in love with Rogue. They finally got married, by the way."

"Really?" asked Jamie. "Last I heard they'd broken up again."

"Well, you haven't been in the loop recently have you?" Lorna teased him. "Alex and I even went to the wedding."

"Are you sure it wasn't another prank?" Jamie asked with mock suspicion.

"I'm sure," said Kurt. "I did the ceremony myself."

"You guys pulled a lot of pranks, huh?" said Opal.

"They started it," Bobby said with a shrug. "They put smoke bombs in the boys dorms the night before school was due to start beginning of my freshman year and got all of us boy boarders detention. For a week."

"Wow."

"It's funny," Kurt said, choosing his next words cautiously. "That's pretty much the only prank they don't admit to doing. Remy even admitted to the Kool-Aid prank earlier, but not the smoke bombs."

"They don't have to admit it," Bobby said, "we all know they did it."

"Yep," Jamie heartily agreed, "you did the investigation yourself. We all know how sneaky Remy is. He would've been able to set those bombs and stick Vaseline on the door handles no problem. And okay, maybe John isn't as sneaky but, come on, if they're not pranking each other, they're pranking with each other."

Kurt nodded thoughtfully, Jamie's words triggering a memory from his original investigation. He remembered talking to the boarders, trying to find out who had the greatest opportunity to put Vaseline on the doors. He had a vague recollection that John had gone around scaring Freshmen, but there had also been a few other people who had gone around. There was one person in particular who had visited everyone in his dorm building but for the life of him Kurt couldn't remember exactly who that had been.

"True," Kurt said slowly, "but they're not the only ones who pulled pranks."

"I think my favourite prank was putting the dry ice in their showers," Bobby said, then snapped his fingers. "Hey what about the time we put Nair in the football helmets?"

"If I recall correctly," said Kurt slyly, "you ended up as Dr McCoy's assistant as punishment for the dry ice thing, and we all ended up with detention for the Nair."

"Yeah," Jubilee said pointedly, "even those of us who weren't in on it."

She shot a pointed look at Jamie. Jamie shrugged nervously. "Umm, I was working on my acting skills? Pretending to be innocent?"

"You might have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for the fact that we all knew you were in on it," Bobby said.

Jamie's only response was shifty eyes.

"Ugh," said Amanda. "All this talk about pranks is even more boring than talking about Bobby being an accountant now."

"Hey!" Bobby objected.

After the main meal, Kurt went wandering again, this time over to the table where Warren, Candy, Kitty, Piotr, Sam, and Lila were sitting. Scott and Jean got up to go mingle as Kurt approached.

"Good evening, Kurt," Piotr said upon noticing his old friend. "How are you?"

"I'm great," Kurt replied as he sat down at one of the temporarily empty chairs, "and yourself?"

"I'm well. Busy preparing for another art show," Piotr said. "It will be great. You must be there."

"Okay then, I guess I'll be there," Kurt said, rather pleased with how much more confident Piotr was these days. He supposed all those years of trying to be more assertive had finally paid off.

"I think," Lila said as she stood, "I am going to go say 'hi' to Ally, haven't spoken to her yet."

Sam cleared his throat as he too stood to follow his wife.

"Later, Kurt," Sam said with a nod. "Nice to see you."

"Oh yeah, wow," Lila said, as if not just realising that walking off so abruptly might seen rude, "yeah, great to see you, Kurt. We'll talk to you later."

"Sure," Kurt replied agreeably.

As Sam and Lila headed off, Anna Marie, Remy, Wanda, and John approached. While Anna Marie sat down in one of the spare chairs, John headed straight for Warren and held out his hand.

"Warren, long time no see," John said warmly.

Warren looked at John's hand and then back up a John. "Scott warned me about the joy buzzer."

"Rats. The little spoilsport."

Kurt laughed. "You've been having a lot of fun with that tonight, haven't you?"

"Hell yes," John replied.

"I am so glad I only had to deal with one year of that prank war," Warren said, shaking his head. "Why you guys kept it going for two..."

"It was fun," Kurt said, "and me and some of the guys may have continued to pull pranks after these guys graduated," he pointed his thumb at Remy and John, "but no wars of that scale."

"What about now?" Kitty asked, looking at Anna Marie. "Any prank wars happening?"

Anna Marie shrugged. "Kids are kids. They'll always be someone doing something, but that doesn't mean they'll tell the teachers about it."

"I still can't believe you're actually teaching here now," Candy said to Anna Marie. "Hell, for that matter, I can't believe Creed isn't. I thought for sure Creed would be one of those teachers who was here forever."

Anna Marie laughed. "Maybe, but then Professor Xavier decided to retire and well, Uncle Victor and Ororo haven't exactly always gotten along. Add Ororo and Dad getting married, and then Professor Xavier making Ororo the headmistress... next thing I know, I have Uncle Victor's old job. Well, sort of. Obviously Dad's the head of the gym department now, not me."

"It must be confusing having Coach Howlett and Coach Howlett," said Candy. "Or is it Coach LeBeau? Or Coach Monroe?"

Anna Marie laughed. "It's Coach Howlett and Rogue. Two Coach Howletts definitely would have been confusing, and I got the job before Remy and I got married."

Remy grinned. "Coach LeBeau does have a nice ring to it though."

"I just hope there isn't any father/daughter rivalry going on like there was brother rivalry," Kitty said. "They were at each others throats the whole time I was there."

"Nah," Anna Marie assured her. "But you may be interested to know we made a couple of changes to the curriculum after Uncle Victor left. We're teaching self defence classes all year round now. They're not overly intense—although they can be if the students want to learn more outside of school hours—but we felt that learning self defence was just as important as knowing how to cook."

"Makes sense to me," said Warren. "What are you doing in place of self defence season then?"

Anna Marie grinned, "Archery."

"I'm sorry I asked."

"That's cool," Kitty said. "I kept up with the martial arts after I left. It's a lot of fun. Oh hey, awesome news. Shadowcat just had its first million dollar turnover year!"

"Shadowcat?" asked Candy.

"That would be the name of her software company," Warren said.

"Yep!" Kitty confirmed excitedly. "It's soooo coool."

"I'm glad things are going so well for you, sugar," Anna Marie said.

"Thanks!"

"And how have you been, Wanda?" Piotr asked.

While Wanda replied, Kurt marvelled once more at how far his friend had come. There was a time when Piotr wouldn't have dreamed of cutting through a conversation like that. A time when Piotr needed to build up the courage to even meet someone knew, let alone ask the girl he had a crush on out on a date. And yet here he was, confident and married to the woman of his dreams.

Kurt paused in his thoughts and turned his head to look at Piotr. He was the one who had visited all the people in his dorm block. It had been all part of his efforts to be more assertive... or that's what he said, but what if there had been another reason as well? Like putting Vaseline on the doorknobs...

"What's that grin for, Kurt?" Remy asked.

"I know who did the smoke bombs," Kurt said delightedly, the last of the pieces falling into place.

"The smoke bombs?" Candy asked.

"Yeah, the ones that got all us boys detention beginning of our senior year," Warren said, then looked pointedly at Remy and John.

"It is true, John did go around to many of the rooms and had the opportunity to put Vaseline on all the doors," Kurt said and as John was about to protest, he continued, "but he wasn't the only one."

Everyone looked at Kurt who started to grin.

"Well?" Kitty asked expectantly.

"Someone went around to every single room in his dorm block, he said it was because he was trying to be more assertive, and I think that's actually true," everyone in the immediate area was watching Kurt, "but I think that it was part of a bigger plan, one that involved putting Vaseline on door knobs," he laughed and shook his head, "he even thought he'd throw me off by helping me, drew up floor plans for me so I'd know who was in which dorm and had which room."

Kurt's eyes tracked to Piotr and the Russian cleared his throat nervously.

"Dude!" John exclaimed. "Everyone was blaming us all this time, and it was you? You?"

"My Petey?" Kitty couldn't believe it.

"Wait a second," Remy said, holding up his hand. "The smoke bombs were a two man job, one for each dorm. Pete couldn't have done it by himself."

"No, he didn't," Kurt agreed, "he had help. He had help from someone else who liked to pull pranks. Someone who knows bits of everything that happened. Someone who also offered to help me in my investigation. Someone who later refused to admit to doing another prank that cost innocent people detention."

The table looked at each other as if to figure out who it was, not realizing that Kurt was referring to someone else.

Kurt stood dramatically, "I know the true identities of the two men responsible for the smoke bomb prank," the entire room hushed at the declaration, some simply surprised by the outburst, others genuinely wanting to know who had done it if it wasn't John and Remy. "Piotr was responsible for his dorm and you," with a flare he pointed at the mastermind of the plan, "put him up to it, Jamie Madrox!"

There was a few gasps, some mumbled talking, and a lot of turned heads.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Jamie said with dignity.

"Uh huh," Kurt replied with a grin, "isn't that what you said about the Nair prank?"

Jamie didn't reply.

"Come on Jamie, you know you did it," said Kurt. "Just admit it for Pete's sake. Um, I mean, Remy and John's sake. They've been wearing the blame for this one long enough, don't you think?"

"The jig is up, Jamie," Piotr called, "we have been sprung."

"You did do it!" Kitty exclaimed.

"Ah, Pete!" Jamie was not happy his friend gave him up, but then said reluctantly. "Fine. Pete and I did the smoke bombs and we let everyone blame Remy and Pyro for it. Happy now?"

"Wait, that was you two?" Sam exclaimed from the table he was visiting. "I thought for sure... oh umm... Hey Pyro? Sorry about the orange dye!"

"That was you?" John demanded, and pointed a finger at him. "Oh, it is on now, mate."

"Ahem," Ororo's voice cut through with aid from the microphone, and everyone turned to see the headmistress standing on the stage. 'I hope everyone had been enjoying their dinner and catching up. Before dessert comes out, Todd and his band will be playing a few songs for us."

Todd grinned as he headed over to the stage with his bandmates, people he had made friends with outside of school. Behind him he heard some of his old school friends yell encouragement. Ororo smiled at Todd as he joined her on stage. He picked up his guitar and as Ororo left the stage, Todd stepped up to the microphone.

"Hey guys," he said. "Well, this is me and my band. You may have heard of us. We're called Gym Class Heroes."

* * *

**AN:**

Well, that's it. I hope you guys enjoyed this story as much as I did writing it. Thanks as always to everyone who reviewed. That you would take the time to be so supportive means a lot to me.

Unfortunately, I can't give you any sort of ETA for my next story, I'm currently working on a mammoth project: I'm aiming for 100+ chapters, all _Hatred is for the Weak_ chapter length. And I'm only on chapter 25 at the moment. I may post one-shots between now and then because I'm definitely going to need a brain break occasionally, heh.

Thanks again, everyone!


	43. Bonus Scene

**Bonus Scene**

I was not in this story anywhere near as much as I should have been, so I'm high-jacking it. Bwahahahahaha!

Who am I? What do you mean who am I? I'm only the one whose been reviewing every single chapter. Been first reviewer most of the time, in fact. I'm the one who noticed that all but two of these chapter titles were song titles from the real Gym Class Heroes band. (Those other two "Let's Dance!" and "Fire Alarm!" must have been written after Todd joined them, amirite?)

And trust me, it wasn't easy to find time. I'm really busy here. What with having Bea Arthur vs Betty White fights with Pyro and playing _Marvel: Avengers Alliance_ (Yay! I'm an Avenger! I knew the invitation had to be coming sooner or later. Everyone becomes an Avenger eventually!)

I just remembered. I forgot to make a comment in my review for chapter 2 about how you can't take away Gambit's eyes from him either. Also, you can't have Lorna without green hair. Or Kurt without blue skin or a tail... wait... you never gave Kurt a tail! What's wrong with you, woman?

Oh, and that troll you had for a little while there. Yeah, they didn't shut up and go away because you refused to feed them. I tracked them down and killed them. Yep. That was me. All me. Also, you now owe me $1,000,000. In cash. What do you mean you don't have that kind of money? And that you don't believe in contract killing? How can you possibly believe that murder is immoral? You write about assassins all the time! Oh here it is, the "it's fiction" excuse. Blah blah blah. Well, I'm fiction too you know! And maybe that was just a fictional killing, did that every occur to you! You could just give me $1,000,000 in fictional money! I have a child to feed, remember? I don't care that Pyro can support himself now. Rumour has it that he and Wanda are expecting twins.

Thank you for using Deadpool's private contracting services, for all your private contractor needs, before you need them, or even know you want them.

By the way, have I mentioned that I liked how Kurt's father was Lord/Baron/Count Wagner in this story? Azazel is lame. And stupid. Seriously, demon fathers are so last century. Although personally, I'm partial to Kurt's biological parents being Mystique and Destiny like rumour has it was originally intended. Heh Heh Heh. Mystique and Destiny getting it on! Wait, what's that? You like Lord Wagner better? What do you mean that it's not biologically possible for Mystique and Destiny to have a male baby? Mystique's a shapeshifter, she could... she doesn't mimic DNA huh? Oh well. I can still think about them getting it on. Hey do you think Mystique shapeshifts into a dude when they do it or is she herself? I think she should be herself. That would be hot.

Upon rereading chapter 25 I realise something. Bella Donna and Gris Gris must have been really pissed that Julien decided to come with them for ice cream. Especially when it turned out he didn't really want ice cream. I can see it all now, Bella Donna walking sexily up to the boys, looking at Gris Gris and saying "I want some ice cream, you wanna come?" "Oh yeah," says Gris Gris, "I definitely wanna come." Then Julien spoils everything with his "Seriously? Ice cream? Fine. I'll come too."

Oh and **TehLily**, you wanna know what could go wrong if you get enough sexy pirates together? You get tired. Very, very tired. Or Syphilis. Or both.

**Wiccamage**_**, **_I noticed you wished that Bella Donna's baby would be Gris Gris in your review to chapter 30 when the pregnancy was announced. Wish granted! That was my idea, by the way. Sure, Chellerbelle is going to claim credit for it and say she was dying to use that reveal scene for a story sometime and was thrilled to pieces when she found a place to use it, but it's all lies. You may thank me now.

I like how you slipped in a rant about Storm/T'Challa, Chellerbelle. You did everything but outright say "I hate this stupid little contrived relationship and I'm so glad their farce of a marriage is over." So I decided to say it for you.

Also, I noticed that no one noticed your favourite power reference. You were right, it was too subtle. Attention readers! Go back and reread the end of chapter 38. Rogue 'absorbs' Remy during the basketball game. Go on, I'll mark your spot so you don't lose where you were up to on this page.

**THIS IS YOUR SPOT!**

You may now all flip out about how you can't believe you missed that.

And now I bet you're all patting yourself on the back about how you knew that Bella Donna's baby wasn't going to be Remy's. I don't know why. It's not like it wasn't blatantly obvious that that's how it was going to turn out.

'Cause what wasn't obvious was that Chellerbelle made things worse by having Bella Donna make a biology mistake. Heh, heh, heh. Just how squeamish are you Chellerbelle? You wouldn't happen to be so squeamish that when they were doing reproduction in class you got light headed and had to leave the classroom, and then promptly collapsed in the middle of walking to sick bay? You probably can't even remember who caught you! You're so squeamish, you can't even handle discussing how bruises are formed! Hey Chellerbelle they're caused by blood vessels breaking!

So have you fainted yet?

No?

You're not even a little bit light headed?

Oh come on that so not fair. I know that totally got you in high school! Darn it. This is like that time when they watched the video on brain surgery and everyone was so used to you fainting by then that they kept looking over at you waiting for the next one and you never did. What kind of a sideshow are you?

Speaking of sideshow, why, _why_ did you let **JayCee's RedGold** bring Joseph into _Gym Class Anti-Heroes_? He totally got in the middle of the ROMY! Though, yeah, the closet scene was hilarious! What do you mean, what do I care? You're always putting those two together on MAA, and in your fanfic, and stuff. It's kind of hard to avoid it. Plus two words: kinky sex. It's bound to happen sooner or later with these two. Preferably sooner. I also ship Jonda and HarleyPool.

Oh! Can you write a story all about me and Harley Quinn on a grand adventure?! What do you mean you are already busy writing your epic tale of love, long life, and super-powered butt-kicking? But... but... it's Harley Quinn! Bad at relationships, deadly with a mallet! No? Alright... fine... go on with your epic ROMY... just leave me out in the cold... after all the support I've given you!

I like **JayCee's Red Gold's **_Gym Class Anti-Heroes_ better anyway. I get more air time.

- Deadpool aka Wade Wilson aka DP


End file.
